Field Trip Health to Split into Two Independent Public Companies
This week in psychedelic business news, Field Trip Health (TSX: FTRP, FTRP.WT, Nasdaq: FTRP) announced unanimous board approval to complete a reorganization that will result in the separation of its Field Trip Discovery and Field Trip Health divisions into two independent public companies, in conjunction with raising $23 million in new financing led by Oasis Management Company. Field Trip Discovery, the next-generation drug development arm of the company, will be renamed Reunion Neuroscience while Field Trip Health will be renamed Field Trip Health and Wellness. Co-founder Ronan Levy will lead Field Trip H&W as CEO, and Field Trip’s current CEO Joseph del Moral will continue to serve in that position for Reunion. “Importantly, the strategic synergy that underlies our original strategy will be maintained through a mutually beneficial Collaboration Agreement,” explains del Moral. “We believe this is an exciting path to continue the growth of both businesses and provides our shareholders with two distinct investment theses.”
PSYCLE Launches to Promote Safe, Ethical Psychedelic Therapy
PSYCLE, a platform that connects clients and therapists for safe, affordable psychedelic therapy, launched recently, with over 60 therapists on board for users to consider. The platform also connects facilitators and therapists with supervisors, as well, enabling therapists to receive specialized training and practical education that extends learning beyond the scope of their licensing boards. “The development of a healing therapeutic environment cannot be achieved when clinicians work in isolation,” the company states. “Ongoing peer and expert supervision holds therapists accountable by encouraging self-inquiry and creating opportunities for professional and personal development.”
Tryp Therapeutics Commences Binge Eating Psilocybin Study
Tryp Therapeutics (CSE: TRYP) (OTCQB: TRYPF), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing psilocybin-based compounds, has dosed its first patient with its leading next-generation drug candidate, TRP-8802 — a non-proprietary 25 mg oral capsule of synthetic psilocybin — in a Phase 2 clinical trial exploring its use for treating binge eating disorder (BED). The study, executed in collaboration with the University of Florida, marks the first FDA regulated clinical trial for psilocybin-assisted therapy targeting BED. “This is a key study for our psilocybin-assisted therapy portfolio as we assess the effectiveness of TRP-8802 to treat patients with BED,” says Dr. Jim Gilligan, Chief Scientific Officer and interim CEO of the psychedelic business. “There has been strong interest in trial recruitment to date. We believe that psilocybin-assisted therapy has the potential to offer a new therapeutic treatment for BED, a disorder that devastates the lives of over 250,000 people each year.”
Optimi Health to Open Canada’s Largest Psilocybin Cultivation Facility to the Public
Optimi Health (CSE: OPTI) (OTCQB: OPTHF) (FRA: 8BN) will be celebrating the recent completion of its 10,000 square foot GMP-Grade licensed psilocybin production facility in Princeton, British Columbia, with a grand opening event on May 27, welcoming guests and dignitaries from the psychedelic business space, the medical and public health fields, local and national politics, and the Indigenous community. As Psychedelic Spotlight previously reported, cultivation on the facility’s first batch of psilocybin is underway, a big step for the company that intends to become a world supplier in the cultivation and formulation of natural psilocybin for approved entities in clinical trials, as well as individuals granted access by Health Canada through legal mechanisms, such the Special Access Program and Section 56 exemptions to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. CEO Bill Ciprick comments, “By having the largest GMP-grade Health Canada licensed mushroom cultivation facility in Canada, we have positioned Optimi to be the number one supplier of safe, natural psilocybin, and we feel good about setting the safest and most stringent production standards in the industry.”