Emyria Ltd (ASX:EMD) will continue its collaboration with leading psychiatrist-led medical practice, PAX Centre, to develop a care model for psilocybin-assisted therapy.
The collaboration addresses the overlap between symptoms of depression and PTSD by expanding treatment offerings available for patients with either or both conditions.
This complements the pair’s existing MDMA-assisted therapy care model.
The number of PTSD and depression cases has grown substantially in recent years and these issues now affect millions worldwide.
This collaboration intends to create a comprehensive and innovative care option for suitably screened patients suffering from either or both conditions, which is particularly important as the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia is restricting the use of MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for major depression from July 1, 2023.
Emyria is looking to establish a network of trained therapists and psychiatrists to provide MDMA-assisted therapy through ethics-approved clinical trials and the Authorised Prescriber pathway.
“We are excited to extend our collaboration with the experienced trauma specialists at the PAX Centre to develop a psilocybin-assisted therapy model for major depression to complement our MDMA-assisted therapy that is already well advanced,” Emyria’s managing director Dr Michael Winlo said.
High level of therapist training
To make sure that it can provide the highest level of therapist training, Emyria and PAX, with the help of Mind Medicine Australia have engaged Dr Ben Sessa, a prominent psychiatrist and MDMA researcher.
“Dr Sessa supports our mission to create innovative and effective mental health care models within community psychiatry as well as supports our goal to generate high-quality clinical data,” Winlo said.
Dr Sessa has more than 20 years of experience in psychiatry and a strong background in MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and will provide valuable expertise and training support.
He is one of only a few clinicians who have facilitated psychedelic-assisted therapy sessions with patients using MDMA, psilocybin and ketamine and is a respected authority in the field.
Dr Sessa has also been recently appointed to the faculty of Mind Medicine Australia to assist with their therapist training program.
PAX Centre director psychiatrist Dr Jon Laugharne believes the collaboration can overcome unique challenges within the space.
"As a specialist centre for complex trauma, PAX Centre understands the intricacies of treating patients with PTSD and we often see patients who are also suffering from depression," he said.
"These co-occurring conditions present unique challenges and we are hopeful that our collaboration with Emyria and the training support of Dr Ben Sessa, will help us provide more comprehensive and evidence-based care for our patients," Laugharne added.
Breaking down the collaboration
Through this extended collaboration with PAX, Emyria will develop the clinical delivery and data monitoring protocols. It will also work on securing patient-ready psilocybin. PAX will provide specialists and trained therapists along with an appropriate facility to administer the therapy safely.
The pair has already made progress on their MDMA-assisted therapy program and has secured a supply of patient-ready MDMA. The care plan has been completed and preparations are now underway at the facility to accommodate the unique requirements of MDMA-assisted therapy.
Dr Sessa will help equip the experienced staff with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide the highest standard of care.
The collaboration between all parties ensures patient safety and the highest standards of care, as all patients will be known to the clinic.
Meanwhile, Emyria will leverage its data capture expertise to gather Real World Data to guide ongoing care model innovation, therapy reimbursement discussions with payers and novel drug development.
Real world data
The generation of real world data will support ongoing care model improvements, crucial cost-effectiveness studies to support reimbursement and also Emyria’s active MDMA-inspired drug development program with partner the University of Western Australia.
Emyria wants to create new medicines through its novel, MDMA-inspired drug discovery program and is currently working on:
- faster acting MDMA-like compound with the potential to shorten treatment session times and increase the number of patients treated and;
- a novel therapy to ameliorate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease treatment.
The recent rescheduling of MDMA by the TGA supports Emyria’s novel MDMA-inspired drug development program. It opens a pathway to registration and reimbursement for these novel compounds across a range of neuropsychiatric disorders.
The company is currently advancing its drug discovery program in Australia and the United States to identify novel, MDMA-like compounds with therapeutic potential.