Awakn has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Devon Partnership NHS Trust and the University of Exeter to increase access to psychedelic-assisted therapy for patients in the UK.
The partnership between Awakn Life Sciences, the Devon Partnership NHS Trust (DPT) and the University of Exeter (UoE) establishes a framework and strategic relationship to assess NHS organisational readiness for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy.
CEO of Awakn, Anthony Tennyson, commented: “The signing of the MOU is an important milestone as mental health issues continue to exacerbate globally. As we push towards our goal of delivering this novel treatment to patients across the UK, Europe and the world, we are excited to lay the groundwork with DPT and UoE to increase access for psychedelics to treat addiction and more.
“By collaborating, Awakn can further accelerate the development and delivery of psychedelic therapeutics for those in need of alternative treatments from the current standard of care. We are making strides towards ketamine-assisted therapies being adopted into mainstream clinical use.”
One of the key items of the partnership is to progress the soon-to-be-published phase II a/b Ketamine for reduction of Alcohol Relapse (KARE) study forward into a pivotal phase III trial.
The partnership will investigate how to enhance the evidence base for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy as an alternative treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and treatment-resistant depression within the NHS, and will assess how best to accelerate the on-label use of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy to treat AUD at scale.
The Devon Partnership NHS Trust provides a wide range of NHS services to people with mental health, learning disabilities, and autism needs across Devon, the wider Southwest region and nationally, and the Psychopharmacology and Addiction Research Centre at the University of Exeter is a field leader in clinical trials of combined psychological and pharmacological interventions, with experience of novel compounds such as MDMA and ketamine.
Awakn stated that the signing of the MOU with Devon Partnership NHS Trust and the University of Exeter marks the beginning of a journey in building awareness of the efficacy and sustainability of ketamine-assisted therapies.
