A pioneering achievement has materialized in the form of over $100 million investment in a Series A private stock sale for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a decade after its inception as a subsidiary of the organization. The colossal capital injection is earmarked to propel the final phases of the application for regulatory approval to deploy MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, as a therapeutic intervention for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Following a decade-long incubation period, MAPS has emerged as the sole torchbearer of psychedelic-assisted therapy research programs to have triumphed in two momentous Phase 3 studies and, subsequently, tendered a New Drug Application to the FDA.
The funding infusion encompasses a ground-breaking rebranding for the organization formerly known as MAPS, which will now assume the appellation of Lykos Therapeutics. This ambitious rechristening initiative is being steered by Helena, spearheaded by hedge-fund maestro Joe Samberg. The financial colossus, Helena, emerged as the leader in the Series A financing.
The president and founder of MAPS, Rick Doblin, Ph.D., lauded the symbiotic partnership, stating, “We are profoundly grateful to partner with Protik Basu and the rest of the Helena team of mission-aligned investors who understand our prioritization of public benefit and deeply care about humanitarian causes. Together, we can uphold our commitment to the trial participants, therapists, scientists, other partners and collaborators, and donors who, over nearly four decades, have dedicated themselves to researching novel investigational therapies for PTSD for public benefit.”
Doblin further elaborated that in tandem with Helena, Lykos will transition from a research-centric non-profit entity to a public benefit corporation, fortified by mission-aligned investors with an unwavering focus on FDA approval and insurance coverage of MDMA-assisted therapy for patients grappling with PTSD.
This monumental investment transpires against a backdrop of mounting fervor for psychedelic treatments targeting recalcitrant mental illnesses that have remained impervious to conventional pharmacotherapies. A plethora of other entities are fervently vying to spearhead the delivery of these revolutionary therapeutic modalities.
Notably, Atai Life Sciences has recently disclosed a substantial $50 million outlay in Beckley Psytech, a UK-based enterprise spearheading the development of expeditious psychedelic remedies for depression. Similarly, Small Pharma, yet another UK-based purveyor of rapid-acting psychedelics, was assimilated into the fold of Canadian clinical-stage biotech firm Cybin Inc. through an all-stock transaction in August.
Compass Pathways, another entity of significant prominence in this realm of pioneering therapeutic paradigms, recently amassed up to $285 million through an amalgamated stock-and-warrant sale to high-profile hedge funds such as TCG Crossover Management and Citadel Advisors. This substantial influx of capital will serve to propel Compass in its clinical forays utilizing psilocybin, the principal psychoactive agent in magic mushrooms, as a modality for addressing depression till late 2025. Notably, Atai Life Sciences retains a partial stake in Compass Pathways.
Despite the burgeoning optimism surrounding the potential of psychedelics to alleviate the suffering of millions of patients, the principal obstacle confronting developers is the labyrinthine and exorbitant regulatory approval process. This perennial stumbling block compels start-ups to divest stock during a period when valuations in the biopharmaceutical domain are conventionally subdued.
