Dave Hodes
The year 2021 has not been kind to the psychedelics industry. The stock performances of the 60 publicly traded psychedelics companies on the Psychedelic Stock Index have been trending steadily downward since February 22, 2021, to their lowest point since the index began on June 1, 2020.
The pandemic has definitely affected psychedelic business development. Nevertheless, a few companies are getting closer to offering products and expanding therapy services. So a looming perfect storm of more psychedelic companies laying the groundwork for further development may encourage a business rebound in 2022.
Here are our picks for the five psychedelic companies to watch in 2022:
Atai Life Sciences, Berlin, Germany – listed on NASDAQ (ATAI) since July, 2021 – Market cap $999 million
Atai Life Sciences, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to transform the treatment of mental health disorders, is also one of the largest shareholders in Compass Pathways. In December, 2021, Atai Impact, launched in October, 2021 as the philanthropic program of Atai Life Sciences, announced its first major initiative, the establishment of the Atai $2 million Fellowship Fund in Psychedelic Neuroscience in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for the Neuroscience of Psychedelics. The company also entered into a series of joint ventures and acquisitions in 2021, including with Psyber, a globally based startup focused on the development of brain-computer interface-enabled digital therapeutics for treating mental health issues. What’s coming in 2022: In January, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave Atai Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance to conduct a clinical study of ketamine. Atai plans to initiate the study early this year through its platform company Perception Neuroscience.
Compass Pathways, London, England – listed on NASDAQ (CMPS) since September 2020 – Market cap $751 million
Compass Pathways is a mental health care company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health. Compass has completed a phase IIb clinical trial of psilocybin therapy for treatment resistant depression in 22 sites across Europe and North America, one of the largest randomized, controlled, double-blind psilocybin therapy clinical trial ever conducted. Compass is also running a phase II clinical trial of COMP360 psilocybin therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). What’s coming in 2022: The company is preparing for a meeting with the FDA in early 2022 to finalize a program using their psilocybin therapy, and anticipates commencing that program late in 2022.
Cybin, Toronto, Ontario, CN – listed on NYSE (CYBN) since August 2021 – Market cap $192 million
Cybin is a leading biotechnology company focused on progressing psychedelic therapeutics by utilizing proprietary drug discovery platforms, innovative drug delivery systems, novel formulation approaches and treatment regimens for psychiatric disorders. It was the first psychedelics company to trade on the NYSE in August, 2021. The company has raised just over $96 million to date to fund clinical trials, M&A and IP strategies. What’s coming in 2022: In October 26, 2021, the FDA authorized an IND application to proceed with the company’s sponsored feasibility study using Kernel’s Flow technology to measure ketamine’s psychedelic effect on cerebral cortex hemodynamics (brain flow blood). Kernel Flow uses pulsed light instead of continuous wave light to increase measured brain information. Kernel Flow is a wearable device the size and look of a bicycle helmet. In the future, it could be more broadly used for neuroscientific or physiological studies of brain activity during psychedelic use.
Field Trip Health, Toronto, CN – listed on NASDAQ (FTRP) since July 2021 – Market cap $149 million
Field Trip does research and development on novel, psychedelic-inspired regulated medicines, and operates clinics that deliver ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in Canada and the United States. Field Trip currently operates and/or owns nine clinics in Toronto, Ontario; Fredericton,
New Brunswick; New York, New York; Santa Monica, California; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. What’s coming in 2022: The company is planning to build an additional nine Field Trip Health Centers in Vancouver, British Columbia; San Diego, California; Washington, DC; Stamford, Connecticut; San Carlos, California; Austin, Texas; Scottsdale, Arizona; Dallas, Texas; and Miami, Florida. On January, 2022, Field Trip announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a Notice of Allowance for Field Trip’s patent application for their first novel psychedelic molecule in development. Field Trip expects the patent to be issued in February, 2022.
MindMed, New York, NY – listed on NASDAQ (MNMD) since April 2021. Market cap $357 million.
MindMed is a clinical-stage biotech company that seeks to discover, develop and deploy psychedelic-inspired medicines and therapies to address mental health and addiction. What’s coming in 2022: On January 4, 2022, the company announced the completion of its Phase 1 clinical trial of 18-MC, the company’s non-hallucinogenic proprietary derivative of ibogaine, being developed for the treatment of indications linked to opioid use disorder. This phase 1 single and multiple ascending dose trial conducted at a single clinical research site in Perth, Australia, evaluated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and effects on the cognitive activity of 18-MC in healthy volunteers. The trial was completed in December 2021 with results expected in early 2022.
Sources: Company SEC filings; Yahoo! Finance; Psychedelic Stock Index; company websites and press releases
