Awakn has entered into a new partnership agreement with Nushama, one of New York’s leading ketamine-assisted therapy centres.
The agreement with Nushama will bring Awakn’s Ketamine-assisted therapy treatment for alcohol-use disorder (AUD) to Nushama’s clinic in New York City.
Awakn’s proprietary treatment protocol was developed and validated in a Phase II a/b trial. The trial delivered 86% abstinence over the six-months post-treatment versus 2% pre-trial – an efficacy that is significantly better than the current standard of care for AUD which has an approximate 25% abstinence rate over a similar timeframe.
The U.S. alcohol and substance addiction treatment industry is significant with 14,000+ treatment facilities across the country generating more than $35bn in revenue, even with its low efficacy rates. Awakn has said it aims to improve performance of the addiction industry by providing clinic operators, such as Nushama, with access to an efficient and more effective treatment option under license.
Improving care for AUD
Under the terms of the license agreement, Awakn will provide access to its proprietary therapeutics and training to Nushama practitioners, and in return, Nushama will pay Awakn an annual fee and a revenue share per treatment.
Traditional AUD rehabilitation facilities range nationally from US$20,000 to US$65,000 per month and start at US$50,000 in NYC. However, Awakn’s protocol at Nushama will cost a one-time fee of US$12,500, a fraction of such facilities with superior efficacy rates.
Awakn CEO, Anthony Tennyson, commented: “We are very excited to partner with Nushama and their exceptional team, who are leaders in ketamine-assisted therapy in one of the world’s largest markets with a high volume of people being treated.
“Expanding our U.S. reach to include such an important market as New York City, with planned expansion across the Northeast region, is a major milestone for our program.
“There is a shared understanding between us that the current standard of care for the treatment of alcohol addiction just isn’t good enough and together we will deliver a more efficacious and cost-effective treatment to the growing number of people who so desperately need it.”
Nushama Co-Founder and President, Richard Meloff, added: “Awakn has assembled one of the finest scientific teams in the world for the study of psychedelics and the treatment of addiction. Given the magnitude of alcoholism and staggeringly high relapse rates, we felt an urgency to offer a new solution that is both efficacious and cost-effective.”
