Numinus Wellness [TSX:NUMI], a Vancouver-based psychedelic drug research firm with a network of Canadian ketamine-therapy clinics, plans to follow its December 16 listing on the main Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) with a listing on a US exchange in 2022, said Numinus CEO and founder, Payton Nyquvest.
“We are aiming to list on a major US exchange in the next year,” he said. “The TSX graduation is an important step in growing our corporate profile in Canada. A listing on a US exchange would enhance our visibility among US-based investors.”
Prior to December 16, Numinus was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Venture Exchange (TSX-V), for companies too small for the main TSX.
“I was excited, because of what it signifies for Numinus and the psychedelic medicine industry as a whole,” the CEO told Psychedelic Invest. “I am proud of what Numinus has achieved over the past three years.”
Ketamine is a drug known for causing dissociative experiences. In Canada and the United States, ketamine is legal for clinical use by a medical professional in the treatment of a patient’s mental health condition, such as depression. It is usually administered intravenously or by a nasal spray.
Moving to the main TSX is an important milestone for Numinus, Nyquvest said, describing it as one of several “key steps.” He argued that Numinus has effectively advanced its healthcare strategy, met its business objectives and built a rapidly scalable growth platform to lead the emerging sector of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
“The up-listing to the TSX will help open doors to more awareness and investment,” he added. “There are only benefits from the graduation to the TSX. It provides our company with greater visibility among investors and financial media, which supports our brand awareness and ultimately drives our mission to help people heal. With the TSX listing, investors will also know we are being held to the highest standards in compliance, regulation, and service.”
No actions were required by Numinus shareholders for this change to proceed, according to a press release. There was no change to the shares, warrants or company share structure as a result of this listing graduation.
Regarding the recent share price slump among many companies in the psychedelic sector, Nyquvest said, “We are excited about this industry and believe in the work we and many of our peers are doing. Like all emerging sectors, there will be some volatility in market prices as investors gain a better understanding of the fundamentals, opportunities and growth drivers of companies in this space.”
In addition to eyeing a 2022 listing on a US exchange, Numinus also has a strategy to enter the US market through M&A, he said.
“We are actively looking at opportunities to add clinics in the US,” as well as buying more Canadian clinics, he said.
In 2021, the company acquired two ketamine-assisted therapy clinics in Canada, Mindspace Wellbeing and the Neurology Centre of Toronto (NCT), bringing its total number of psychedelic clinics to five, all in Canada.
Mindspace is a Montreal-based psychology clinic with Psychedelic Harm Reduction and Integration programming, described in a press release as “first-of-its-kind training in Canada for clinicians helping their clients work safely with psychedelics,” in addition to ketamine-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression. Mindspace has two locations that support more than 1,400 clients, through in-person and virtual services.
The NCT is a Toronto-based clinical neurology therapy provider, specializing in the use of medical cannabis for both adult and pediatric patients. According to a press release, Numinus’s goal in this acquisition was to enable NCT to expand into a clinical neurology centre with specialization in psychedelic neurology.
These two recent clinic acquisitions were funded by equity raises, Nyquvest said. The purchase payments consisted of both performance-based equity and cash.
Numinus has also recently been expanding its laboratory capabilities and strategically investing in clinical research, he said.
Currently, Numinus offers ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and traditional talk therapy in its clinics, though other psychedelics may be part of its future. Ketamine has proven results in treating mental health disorders including depression and alcohol/substance dependency, Nyquvest said, noting that other psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA remain limited to research studies and protocols.
Nyquvest is a former Director, VP and Head of Sales at Mackie Research Capital, with 15 years of experience focusing on early-stage companies in multiple industries including technology, health-care/biotech, cleantech and cannabis, according to his LinkedIn page. It states that he has raised over CAD 100m (USD 77m) for over 100 public and private companies, while facilitating numerous IPOs. “He founded Numinus after recognizing a gap in the healthcare system, and out of a lifelong interest in health, wellness and personal development, triggered by mental health and chronic autoimmune problems in his earlier years.”
Nyquvest is an advisory committee member of the TSX-V, according to his LinkedIn page.
“We are proud to work alongside MAPS [Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies] in furthering the regulatory landscape for psychedelic-assisted therapies, including MDMA, and setting the stage for the healthcare system of tomorrow,” Nyquvest said. “We are also deep in the work on our Phase 1 clinical trial that will evaluate safety and psychoactive properties of natural psilocybin product extracted and formulated at our 7,000-square-foot [federally-licensed] laboratory in British Columbia.”
In October, the company announced an expansion of its BC lab, which will double its size and is slated for completion in Summer 2022. The new space will be for bioanalytical testing, bioassay and in-vitro studies, research & development and formulation studies for several psychedelic compounds (including ketamine, psilocybin and LSD) and small batch manufacturing, according to a press release. The site design and application will include a Level 7 security directive that permits expanded import, storage and distribution capabilities along with long-term stability studies for multiple products.
The expanded lab will study psilocybe mushrooms and “under-researched psychedelic botanicals,” the release stated, expanding Numinus’s capabilities in extraction research, optimization and genomics for a variety of psychedelic materials, as well as continuing to develop a verified psilocybe tissue culture bank.
“These assets, along with a provision of raw materials, finished dosages and regulatory support, will help industry stakeholders advance their initiatives in clinical and benchtop research. To date, Numinus Bioscience has developed standardized analytical methods for psilocybin, psilocin, baeocystin, norbaeocystin, tryptophan, norpsilocin, aeruginascin, ketamine, LSD, MDMA and mescaline.”
Numinus also provides services to other psychedelics companies, such as analytical testing, product development and ancillary services (e.g. contaminant and impurity testing), the release noted.
“We will continue to invest in key infrastructure like our lab as we advance our integrated model,” the Numinus CEO and founder said. “As industry leaders, we recognize it is essential to leverage our assets to support allied groups in order to achieve our mission of increasing accessibility in mental healthcare.”
Other players in the Canadian ketamine therapy sector include Toronto-based Field Trip Health [TSX:FTRP] and Toronto-based Awakn Life Sciences [NEO:$AWKN OTCQB:$AWKNF].
Numinus’s market cap is approximately CAD 100m (USD 77m).
Numinus ended its fiscal year on August 31 with a cash position of CAD 59.2m (USD 45.7m), according to a press release. Its revenues grew 81% year-over-year to CAD 0.5m (USD .39m) for Q4 2021. Revenues grew 72% year-over-year to CAD 1.5m (USD 1.2m) for FY 2021. The company had a gross profit of CAD 31,818 (USD 24,579) for Q4 2021. It has two clinical trials about to launch: a Phase 1 study for proprietary psilocybe extract and a Phase 3 open label study.
According to a recent Management Discussion and Analysis report, Numinus completed financings totaling $79.3 million through a combination of bought deal financings and exercised warrants and options in 2021. Numinus generated revenue of $1,513,670 for the year ended August 31, 2021, compared to $881,178 for the same period ended August 31, 2020.
The report also noted that in 2021 Numinus Biosciences received amendments to its federal Health Canada licence to allow the possession, production, assembly, sale, export, and delivery for a wide variety of psychedelics including ketamine and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). The amendment also supported Numinus’s role in these activities related to Mescaline, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), N-Methyl-3,4, methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDMA), Psilocin and Psilocybin.
With these amendments, Numinus can now develop and implement standardized psychedelics testing on top of existing high throughput capabilities, and formulate and produce psychedelic compounds in finished packaged products for clinical trials, clinical use under exemption and export,” the report stated.
Also in 2021, Numinus invested CAD 1.4 m (USD 1.08m) in psychedelic research and development, including completing the first legal extraction of Psilocybe mushroom and readying a Phase 1 clinical trial on a naturally derived Psilocybin extract, as well as initiating a compassionate access clinical trial of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for substance use disorder in collaboration with the Vancouver-based Syreon Corporation.
“This is only the beginning of our journey,” Nyquvest told Psychedelic Invest.