One company is providing investors with the opportunity to contribute to novel mental health care solutions by participating in the growth of companies in the psychedelics space.
A Our World in Data report estimates around 792 million people lived with a mental health disorder in 2017, and current treatment regimens are insufficient for many living with resistant disorders. The problem calls for revolutionary solutions, and the emerging psychedelics space looks promising for patients who need effective treatments.
Data Bridge Market Research estimates that the psychedelics industry will grow to $6.9bn by 2027 – it is statistics like this that are attracting socially conscious investors to the space who are looking to make a difference.
Actively managed investment issuer Origin Therapeutics is aiming to provide investors with diverse exposure to a portfolio of private companies in the sector to enable participation in their growth and contribute to this possible solution to the global mental health crisis.
Why invest in mental health
With the mental health crisis compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, Origin Therapeutics CEO Alexander Somjen, says providing growth capital to companies that are actively seeking solutions through psychedelics is an exciting prospect.
Somjen commented: “The vast majority of companies created to capture this opportunity are privately held, and retail investors often don’t have access to the most promising privately-held deals in the space or have access to investment opportunities in early-stage psychedelic companies in the proof-of-concept stage of the deal cycle.
“You’re seeing a lot of ESG mandates and I don’t see any reason why investors wouldn’t want the ability to deploy their capital to something that is a very exciting, emerging space that is focused on combating mental illness.
“The pandemic had a hugely detrimental effect on mental health, and I think mental health and mental illness are top of mind for society in general. Being able to provide growth capital to companies is a very exciting prospect for me and for Origin. I think that that society is becoming much more open-minded and embracing alternative treatment methods for mental illness as an adjunctive to more conventional treatment methods that have had some success but also do leave a lot to be desired.
“Speaking to Canada, one in five Canadians experience mental illness or addiction, every year. It’s the leading cause of disability in Canada and a major cause of premature deaths. Globally, the numbers are very staggering – 150 million people are affected by substance abuse, 250 million people are affected by anxiety, 300 million people are affected by PTSD and depression. So, there is maybe a billion people globally per year that could benefit from psychedelic-based treatments. That’s a big part of the impetus for starting Origin – to be able to provide growth capital to companies that are exploring this.”
Supporting growth
Somjen highlights that increasing awareness of the benefits of psychedelics will pave the way for mainstream acceptance of the medicines and the implementation of regulatory frameworks to allow for treatment programmes.
“As society gets better informed on mental health and becomes more aware of how to treat mental illness, interest in psychedelics has really been renewed. There was a counterculture movement in the 60s that stigmatised psychedelics. But now, we are seeing regulatory frameworks; the laws that have been put in place to prohibit their use and the rationales used to set up those prohibitions are being challenged left right and centre and that’s becoming a global phenomenon.
“As the public becomes more open to the idea of psychedelics it is not only a treatment option but an effective one. I think we are going to see more regulatory frameworks getting put in place to allow for psychedelic treatment programmes to be funded and to operate in the context of being beneficial to society.
“I think a combination of public sector and private sector are going to play an important role. In Canada, we have got the Section 56 Exemption under the CDSA that allows for a licenced dealer programme of psychedelics provided that they are being distributed to a company that is using psychedelics in the context of healthcare.”
Origin Therapeutics has raised nearly $7m which has been deployed across five investee biotech companies that are using psychedelics, both naturally occurring and synthetic, and exploring their treatment potential for mental health.
“We have also invested in companies that are involved in marketing, conferencing, awareness and education around the psychedelic industry. We have invested in a company that offers a telehealth platform connecting patients with clinicians trained in ketamine assisted psychotherapy, for example, and have invested in a company, Dimensions Healing, that is building wellness retreats with comprehensive treatment programmes involving psychedelics so – a broad basket of companies in the space.
“Dimensions Healing has also funded a psychedelic research facility at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, so, I think we are definitely going to see more collaborations between institutions and private companies as more capital gets deployed to the space. I think that is a very paramount piece of the equation to really make psychedelics more mainstream.
“Canada was the first G7 country to legalise cannabis. So, it made sense that now there are regulatory frameworks in Canada that make it possible to start a psychedelics-related business. The United States is fairly progressive in terms of cannabis at a state level, so I expect North America will be a trailblazer. I think the psychedelics sector is going to be very fragmented until more capital is deployed and governments ultimately see a benefit to society – and potential tax revenue from larger-scale businesses.”
Origin Therapeutics expects to list on the Canadian Securities Exchange towards the end of Q4 of this year, which will enable greater access to capital for Origin to broaden its investor base and continue to build out its portfolio.
