- Awakn will acquire a 100% interest in Axon, a ketamine-assisted psychotherapy clinic in Norway.
Awakn Life Sciences Corp. (NEO: AWKN) (OTCQB: AWKNF) (FSE: 954) a biotechnology company developing and delivering psychedelic medicine to treat addiction, is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding share exchange agreement to acquire a 100% interest in Axonklinikken AS (“Axon”), a leading ketamine-assisted psychotherapy clinic in Norway. As part of the transaction Axon will be renamed ‘Awakn Oslo AS’, and Axon’s majority shareholder Dr. Lowan Stewart will be appointed as Regional Director for the Nordics and Managing Director Awakn Oslo AS.
The acquisition will enable Awakn to accelerate its clinic roll out program, as Awakn will now parallel path its regional expansion plans in both the Nordics (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland) and U.K. & Ireland, territories with a combined 100m population and US$5trn GDP.
Awakn Oslo AS will serve as a regional hub from which Awakn plans to expand across the Nordics and is in addition to the two other clinics Awakn plans to have operational this fiscal year (Bristol and London locations), all of which Awakn expects to begin generating revenue in the near-term.
“This is a key element of our goal for Awakn to become the leading authority in the development and delivery of psychedelic therapeutics to treat addiction,” “Our approach of development and delivery enables Awakn to earn revenue while we also develop a deep IP portfolio with strong commercial potential. This acquisition will enable Awakn to accelerate the first element of our three-pronged revenue generation strategy: clinics in the UK and Europe, licencing partnership beyond the UK and Europe, and therapeutics commercialisation.”
Anthony Tennyson, Awakn’s CEO
The new Oslo clinic will be led by Dr. Stewart, one of Europe’s preeminent ketamine physicians. Dr. Stewart was previously the founder and medical director of the Santa Fe Ketamine Clinic, the first ketamine treatment center in New Mexico. He has lectured internationally on ketamine for depression and is a member of the American Society of Ketamine Physicians.
“This marks huge progress for psychedelic-assisted therapies in the Nordic region. As a practicing physician, medical adviser and researcher, I am excited at the opportunity to further expand the use of ketamine-assisted therapies for those suffering from addiction to this region of the world,” said Dr. Stewart. “With its robust pipeline of research, Awakn is poised to address a growing need in our communities for new, research-backed treatment options for a variety of mental illnesses that provide significantly better outcomes.”
As consideration for the acquisition, Awakn shall issue to the shareholders of Axon an aggregate of 200,000 common shares of Awakn at a deemed price of $2.50 per share. Awakn has also agreed to pay to the shareholders of Axon the following additional consideration (the “Additional Consideration”) of up CAD1.35m based on Axon meeting certain milestones:
- Opening a second clinic in Norway.
- Opening a first clinic in a second Nordic country.
- Opening a first clinic in a third Nordic country.
- Achieving agreed revenue and EBIDTA targets.
Awakn shall have the option to pay any amount of the Additional Consideration in cash or common shares at its option. The value to calculate the number of the common shares to be issued shall be the greater of (i) a 10-day volume weighted average price, (ii) the minimum price allowable by the NEO Exchange, and (iii) CAD$2.50. The initial 200,000 common shares issued shall be subject to a lock-up resulting in 10% being released upon completion of the acquisition and 15% every three months thereafter.
About Awakn Life Science Corp.
Awakn Life Sciences is a biotechnology company with clinical operations, developing and delivering psychedelic medicine to better treat addiction. Awakn’s team consists of world leading chemists, scientists, psychiatrists, and psychologists who are developing and advancing the next generation of psychedelic drugs, therapies, and enabling technologies to treat addiction. Awakn will also deliver evidence backed psychedelic therapies for addiction in clinics in the U.K. and Europe and through licencing partnerships globally.