Thread by @blossomact

Let's get the party started #ps2023 @PsychedelicSci

First up, the Industry/business briefing

Lewis Goldberg opens the briefing, noting the hard work that has preceded today and that we're on the brink of psychedelic-assisted therapies becoming available

The panels will cover investments, media, clinics, manufacturing and therapy

First up @shirellenoble from @BeckleyResearch (Academy) and Fede Menapace from @MAPS

@shirellenoble @BeckleyResearch @MAPS Both speakers - maybe all in coming days - have a personal connection with psychedelics

Which might make all of us (yours truly incl) look at psychedelic medicines through rose tinted glasses

At the same time, this perspective has allowed MAPS to raise more than $100m over the last few decades

The for-profit arm of MAPS is a Public Benefit Company (PBC) which also goes for Beckley Academy

Which might align incentives better, but note they are still corporations

*Public Benefit Corporation

Lewis touches upon the tension between long-term investor returns and creating public goods

Fede notes other (pharma) companies are also changing to PBCs and that in the last few years investors have become more open to this structure (Vs a C-corp)

Fede speaks about the deal with @VineVentures (share future revenue)

The more revenue, the lower the percentage cut to the investors (which might help with creating more access)

@VineVentures Next up Michael Huttner, David Feldman, Lindsay Hoover, and Daniel Tarockoff talking about investing

@VineVentures Lewis addresses the hype and hope directly, tempering expectations

Lindsay agrees and says investments they do (private) look at long-term positive outcomes, but the team might be most important

@VineVentures David agrees and says they look at

1) team (internal & external separate)
2) be unique (don't be psi for AUD nr10)
3) be concise (in investor presentation) and let them know how you will make money

@VineVentures *Micheal

Daniel notes that all the funding presently will not take a drug through full FDA approval, he banks on later-stage investors to help cover that

David aptly names 2021 the "rainbow rush" where psy companies went public very early on (pre-clinical vs after Phase II)

@VineVentures Why go public in Canada?

Quick money, legality, legacy from cannabis

But no institutional money there (later stages)

@VineVentures How to make money back?

Daniel: some investments (psy adjacent) can return cash now, investors can be patient

Lindsay: have 1/3rd drug dev, rest could return earlier

In other words, invest in other mental health companies

@VineVentures Michael says the opportunity for psychedelics may be greater than cannabis

And this may be the case for medical application, but I would argue that the commercial/recreational opportunities are much smaller

Is it time to invest?

Everyone is waiting for MAPS MDMA-AT approval

But lots of the companies here will not exist in a few years (for excellent analysis see @Psyched_Alpha )

@Psyched_Alpha So, time for Murders & Axes (merges & acquisitions)

Lindsay doesn't see the maturity and money available for M&A

@Psyched_Alpha David: Distressed buyers don't like what they see (Daniel: they can also wait until market/pr risk goes down)

Strategic ones don't see synergies (yet)

And IPOs and mergers are further away

@Psyched_Alpha The investors further discuss the different verticals in which the companies operate

One big question is how federal government will react to psychedelics, after state legalisation/decrim

@Psyched_Alpha Brand; how do the investors think about it?

Daniel: sure, but for consumer facing companies

Lindsay: @TRIPPVR is building support on both sides (consumers & institutional)

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR Investors Q&A

Worries about patents?
Lindsay: due diligence, names Gilgamesh as example, doesn't name patent troll company, notes pharma (late stage money) will check IP

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR What about smaller companies?

Daniel: Venture investing might not always be the best route (it's quite expensive), debt, revenue, crowdfunding, etc might be better

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR How about international companies?

Daniel: no hard rules against it, but retreats not focus of their fund (can't 10x)

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR Invest in consumer communication?

Investors haven't seen great examples (yet)

One exception might be @doubleblindmag which has recently raised a round

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag Next up: clinical & manufacturing

Nilja Guthri & Dina Burkitbuyeva will cover the roadblocks PAT is now facing

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag How do the claims being made (e.g. help cure alcoholism) fit within clinical trial process?

Dina: Do patients need it (no other treatments with same efficacy available)? Can we run the trial (difficult, "infinitely more complex")? Breaking through paradigm shift.

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag Regulatory perspective

Nilja: learn from mistakes of cannabis sector ("this isn't cannabis 2.0") which isn't thriving (from medical perspective)

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag How to develop IP around drugs that have been around for ages (e.g. ketamine)?

Dina: formulation (e.g. nasal spray), therapy combo

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag Trial design, how to take unblinding into account?

Nilja: RCT isn't gold standard here (as it isn't truly masking), real-world/pragmatic trials better option, still do good pre-clinical work on safety etc

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag Dina: compare ketamine only Vs therapy combo, placebo effect is high in psychiatry (in general, b/c attention, out of normal environment, etc)

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag Nilja: need enough participants in trials (which, let me tell you, most trials don't have)

See: https://blossomhttp://analysis.com/trials

(But this does cost a lot of money)

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag Is finding trial participants difficult?

Nilja: easy to find psychedelic naive patients, but misinformation and expectations difficult

Dina: many trials and few patients that fit the bill (criteria)

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag Nina notes the arms length distance between the sponsor and the CRO (contract research company)

Which inadvertently does make me question the lack of distance between MAPS (PBC) and trial participants (skewing results too positive)

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag How about (equitable) access?

Nilja: need to take it slow and even see how much consumer/recreational access we want

Dina: notes difference between decrim en legalisation (which consumers buying psilocybin chocolate aren't aware of)

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag Is it possible to bring this type of drug to market?

Dina: yes, see esketamine (Spravato) as example, on track for $1b revenue year

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag Therapist bottleneck?

Yes, even just for 'normal' psychiatrists

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag Q from ketamine clinic provider: how to study when each patient treatment is unique?

Nilja: observational study with many participants, also recognises need for therapy side

@Psyched_Alpha @TRIPPVR @doubleblindmag Apologies for the break, coverage will be a bit more spotty than at other conferences (and with 10 tracks at the same time, also impossible)

The industry briefing ends with a discussion on/with the media

Lewis speaks with Ken Jordan @lucidnewssite Olivia Goldhill, Christine Ricciardo, and Blake Foeman

Ethics is one of the topics brought up as key for media

@lucidnewssite From STAT's perspective (Olivia) the health/safety of patients is most important

Blake, from ESNP, shares his learning journey getting into the space (making doc about sports X healing with psychedelics)

@lucidnewssite Christine discusses the difficulty with giving a platform to the right people ("who is legit")

The question about what to highlight becomes extra poingnent when talking with patients with trauma

@lucidnewssite "we are not doing gotcha journalism, we're doing community building journalism" Ken Jordan

The goal is to present the truth, but not to hit everything down at the same time

@lucidnewssite That wraps the business briefing

A short, but balanced overview of the blossoming (sorry, not sorry) psychedelic field