Psychedelic Business News Spotlight: February 5, 2021

This week in psychedelic business news, Super Mario's magic mushroom gets a new use, Mindset files three patents, Bright Minds goes public, and more.

Psychedelic mushroom product developer Silo Wellness has closed a private placement financing round estimated at $2.5 million with Canadian mineral sourcing company, Yukoterre. 

“Total gross proceeds of $4.9 million from the Financing will position Silo Wellness to be able to scale its ketamine nature retreat held in Oregon and Jamaican psilocybin mushroom wellness retreats upon the satisfaction of the escrow release conditions and CSE approval and closing of the Proposed Transaction,” Douglas Gordon, Chief Executive Officer of Silo Wellness, said in a statement. “This follows on Silo Wellness’ successful launch of the first-of-its-kind legal ketamine psychedelic wellness retreat in Oregon last month on the iconic McKenzie River.”

 Toronto’s Mindset has filed three patents for its psilocybin-inspired compounds. The patent applications aim to improve therapeutic delivery and use. 

“Our filing of these patent applications is a key milestone in our goal to create innovative, novel drugs aimed at improving outcomes of patients suffering from neuropsychiatric and neurological indications. The progress that the Company has made over the past year in advancing these compounds towards clinical trials is a testament to the strength of the Mindset scientific team,” Mindset CEO James Lanthier said in a statement. 

Bright Minds Biosciences is getting listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange. Focused on next-generation psychedelics and therapies, its common shares will be available Monday, February 8, 2021 under the ticker symbol, “DRUG”.

“Today marks a significant milestone for Bright Minds, as we officially become a publicly traded company. The next 12-24 months will be an exciting and active time for us, as we advance our lead product through the pre-clinical process and into human trials,” CEO Ian McDonald said in a statement. “Our team of renowned scientists brings extensive experience in drug discovery and drug development, and our innovative approach stands to improve significantly on first-generation psychedelics.”

Delic Corp. has signed a binding letter of agreement to acquire Ketamine Infusion Centers LLC. This marks Delic Corp.’s first acquisition. The company will expand its media platform to include medical experts as well as foray into brick and mortar locations. 

“We publicly listed DELIC with the intent of buying cash-flowing, scalable companies and that is exactly what KIC represents. KIC management has decades of experience in the health sector and has successfully scaled and exited over two dozen clinics and hospital,” Matt Stang, founder and CEO of DELIC, said in a statement. “KIC's extensive background in operating clinics and hospitals better enables DELIC to be the leader in ketamine clinic rollouts, ensuring that our patients receive the best medical treatment and care. We intend to use this best-practices methodology, such as an insurance reimbursement program, to scale-out our clinic footprint throughout the country.”

Psyched Wellness announced it is studying the psychoactive compound in Amanita muscaria mushrooms, called muscimol. The bright red and white dotted mushrooms are perhaps best known for their appearance in the Super Mario Brothers video game and their link to Santa Claus. Psyched Wellness is interested in muscimol’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential. The company made the announcement last month.

“This initial preliminary study will provide more insight into the potential health and wellness properties of the active compound muscimol of the Amanita Muscaria mushroom, which may lead into advanced preclinical areas of study for further work into a natural therapeutic agent,” study lead Brian Tancowny said in a press release.

Psyched Wellness is also developing a line of Amanita muscaria-derived water-based extracts, teas and capsules designed to reduce stress, induce relaxation and improve sleep.

“The launch of the ETF so early in the renaissance of the industry speaks to the excitement both the investment and medical communities have for these transformative molecules,” said Jeff Stevens, CEO of Psyched Wellness, in a statement. “As we move forward and grow, we look forward to educating the industry on the potential of Amanita Muscaria and helping to bring psychedelics into the mainstream.”