Emyria Ltd (ASX:EMD) has finalised the terms for the strategic acquisition of the Pax Centre, Australia’s leading multidisciplinary psychological trauma care service.
This acquisition will enhance Emyria's patient-centric clinical service portfolio and support the company's mission to expand and improve mental health care, underscoring the company’s commitment to bringing innovative, safe and effective therapies to patients globally.
The company's collaborative medicine discovery program with the University of Western Australia is expected to benefit from this development, with several promising novel candidates already identified.
"A transformation"
Emyria’s managing director Dr Michael Winlo said: “This acquisition is a transformation for Emyria. By integrating Pax's multidisciplinary team into our existing clinical operations, we're strengthening our clinical service foundations and building a unique model for the delivery of emerging mental health treatments, such as psychedelic-assisted therapies.
"The acquisition also improves our ability to collect crucial clinical data that can help engage payers as well as drive further care model improvements and novel drug development.”
Comprehensive care
The Pax Centre, which serves more than 4,000 clients, offers a comprehensive range of conventional and emerging therapies.
With a team of 20 clinicians covering various specialities including psychiatry, mental health nursing, clinical psychology, counselling, social work, occupational therapy and chiropractic care, the Pax Centre generates more than $2.6 million in annual billings.
The acquisition, valued at $1.7 million, will be paid in a combination of shares (76%) and cash (24%) when all conditions have been satisfied.
Emyria's strategic acquisition of the Pax Centre is a significant step toward establishing a global Centre of Excellence for the development and delivery of innovative and sustainable therapies, including psychedelic-assisted therapy.
By integrating operations with Emyria's GP-led service, Emerald Clinics, the company aims to generate operational synergies and opportunities for real-world data collection, fortifying its leadership position in mental health care delivery and improving patient outcomes.
Advancing patient recruitment
This acquisition also aligns with Emyria's plans to advance patient recruitment and foster payer engagement for the ethics-approved pivotal trial for MDMA-assisted Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder therapy (EMDMA-001).
Emyria has already received more than 100 expressions of interest for this trial and plans to expedite the development of psilocybin-assisted therapy protocols for treatment-resistant depression.
The opportunity for psychedelic-assisted therapy has gained momentum with the recent rescheduling of MDMA and psilocybin as controlled medicines by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) from July 1 this year.
The rescheduling opens up exciting possibilities for broadening the clinical application of these treatments, which have shown promise in addressing challenging mental health conditions such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and treatment-resistant Depression (tr-D).
Robust clinical data delivery
Emyria's expertise in developing complex care protocols and managing clinical studies, combined with its existing clinical service, Emerald Clinics, and the advanced data capture platform Palantir Foundry, position the company well to deliver high-quality care and gather robust clinical data.
The acquisition of the Pax Centre significantly expands Emyria's mental health care team and facilities, allowing for the establishment of a global centre of excellence in the delivery and development of new and innovative therapies.
Emyria and the Pax Centre are already well-prepared to deliver psychedelic-assisted therapy, with secure supplies, a trained team of therapists and clinicians, ethics-approved care protocols, and an advanced patient data registry.
They are also developing care models for psilocybin-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression and exploring additional clinical trial protocols.
"Incredibly exciting"
Pax Centre director, psychiatrist Dr Jon Laugharne said: "The prospects of integrating Emyria's data-driven research approach with our existing care models is incredibly exciting.
"We believe that with Emyria’s support, we have an opportunity to become a centre of excellence that only offers innovative and cost-effective treatments to patients but also helps train and support the next generation of specialists and therapists."