Canada-based biotechnology company Psyence Biomedical has signed a conditional binding term sheet with Clairvoyant Therapeutics, a developer of psilocybin-based therapeutics.
As per the agreement, Psyence Biomed will buy 100% shareholdings of Clairvoyant, by issuing its common shares worth $500,000 to Clairvoyant’s disposing shareholders, upon closing.
The share transfer will be followed by up to two share-based payments of $250,000 each, in cash or common shares, upon achieving pre-specified milestones by December 2026.
Psyence intends to pay Clairvoyant in tranches of $1,800,000, to settle its liabilities, which includes costs related to clinical trials.
The proposed acquisition is subject to the signing of a definitive share purchase agreement between the parties, based on the terms set out in the current binding term sheet.
Its closing is subject to several conditions, including board approval, regulatory strategy approvals, and satisfactory due diligence, along with other customary closing conditions.
Clairvoyant is currently developing a synthetic psilocybin-based candidate in a Phase 2b clinical study, as a potential treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD).
The company has completed the enrolment and treatment of 154 participants in the randomised double-blinded study, with the topline results anticipated in early 2025.
Psyence Biomed CEO Neil Maresky said: “The proposed acquisition of Clairvoyant makes strategic sense for us for several reasons.
“First, it introduces a synthetic psilocybin-based therapeutic candidate that nicely compliments our ongoing nature-derived psilocybin development program that we are advancing in Adjustment Disorder following a life-limiting cancer diagnosis in the Palliative Care context.
“Additionally, this proposed acquisition may expand our pipeline into another high-value indication – AUD – with a regulatory pathway that could potentially transition us to a commercial-stage, revenue-generating company.”
Clairvoyant CEO Damian Kettlewell said: “We are very pleased to join forces with Psyence Biomed as we move ahead with our ‘speed to market’ strategy for psilocybin in AUD.
Clairvoyant designed its Phase 2b study as a 24-week, multi-centre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study.
The study is aimed at evaluating two administrations of 25mg psilocybin, at five and nine weeks, in conjunction with psychotherapy compared to placebo.
It is conducted in 12 study sites in the EU and Canada, where 154 subjects with a moderate to severe diagnosis of AUD are evaluated.
The AUD in participants is measured by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) criteria using Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 by the investigator.
Kettlewell added: “Importantly, prior academic studies, including one study by NYU Langone published in JAMA Psychiatry in 20226, found that psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy resulted in an 83% average reduction in alcohol consumption.
“As well, a study of psilocybin therapy for AUD from August 2024 showed that a single psilocybin dose was safe and effective in reducing alcohol consumption in AUD patients. “These two studies suggest that there is a very strong scientific rationale for continued development in this indication. We look forward to topline data in early 2025 that, if positive, could accelerate development plans to approval.”
