Filament Health (FH.NE) locks down another licensing agreement

Natural Psychedelics Revolution

$21.418M Market Capitalization

Filament Health Corp. (FH.NE) announced today that it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Psyence Group Inc. (PSYG.C). Under the terms of the agreement, the Company will license its proprietary botanical drug candidate PEX010 25 milligrams (mg) and the associated intellectual property (IP) to Psyence for use in its upcoming clinical trials.

“Psyence is pioneering the use of natural psilocybin in the context of palliative care…We are thrilled to partner with them and are extremely pleased to see the advancement of our drug candidate addressing this important area of unmet need,” said Benjamin Lightburn, Chief Executive Officer of Filament.

Similar to Filament, Psyence is focused on the development of natural psilocybin products for the treatment of trauma and mental health disorders. Furthermore, the company established one of the first legal and federally licensed commercial natural psilocybin cultivation and production facilities in 2020, in Southern Africa. In particular, Psyence is concerned with palliative care.

For context, palliative care refers to the treatment and alleviation of suffering for those facing acute or persistent medical issues, whether the prognosis is deemed terminal or chronic. However, according to a study published by Irving Kirsch, almost 40% of palliative care patients are prescribed legacy antidepressant medication and two-thirds are currently prescribed a sedative, such as benzodiazepine.

Speaking from experience, the side effects of antidepressants are arguably not worth the benefits. In fact, Kirsch’s study revealed an outstanding 82% of the response was associated with the placebo effect, with just 18% due to the pharmacological effects of antidepressants. With this in mind, the drug effect of antidepressants is not clinically significant in comparison to an apparent placebo effect.

Clinical Trials

In an attempt to penetrate the palliative care market, which is expected to reach USD$6.43 billion in 2028, Psyence is designing market-leading clinical trials that will initially be conducted in the United Kingdom (UK). The company’s latest licensing agreement with Filament will allow Psyence exclusivity in the UK for the indications of anxiety and depression, and associated ailments, within the context of palliative care.

“Partnering with Filament is a perfect complement to our expertise in both the cultivation and delivery of these substances to patients in need as we commence our palliative care clinical trial. Licensing Filament’s IP and leveraging their data and experience will allow us to expedite our UK clinical trial application,” said Dr. Neil Maresky, Chief Executive Officer of Psyence.

Psyence intends to submit a clinical trial application (CTA) to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK. Furthermore, Psyence is preparing to export its mushrooms to Filament, which the Company will then process and manufacture a dosage form for use in Psyence’s future clinical trials. Filament’s latest news comes shortly after the Company announced that it has been issued a patent by the USPTO.

Additionally, on February 23, 2022, Filament announced a licensing agreement with Atma Journey Centers. Similar to the Company’s agreement with Psyence, Filament will license its PEX010 to ATMA for use in clinical trials. This includes a Phase 1 psilocybin safety trial in individuals enrolled in a psychedelic-assisted therapy training program. More details of this agreement can be found here!

Filament’s share price opened at $0.13 today, compared to a previous close of $0.13. The Company’s shares were up 3.84% and were trading at $0.135 as of 10:29 AM ET.