NeonMind
Advances Strategy for Specialty Clinic Launch
Company
expects to launch first specialty clinic locations by early
2022
NeonMind-branded specialty
mental health clinics to bring innovative interventional psychiatry
treatments to underserved populations in Canada
Vancouver, B.C.
- September 28, 2021: NeonMind Biosciences Inc. (CSE: NEON)(OTCQB: NMDBF)
(FRA:
6UF) ("NeonMind'' or the "Company"), an integrated drug development and
wellness company, today provided an update on the Company's medical
services division, including its specialty clinics initiative to
establish a national network of clinics offering interventional
psychiatry treatments. The Company recently established a
best-in-class Specialty Clinics Advisory Board to oversee the
advancement of its medical services division and is currently in
advanced negotiations with potential partners to launch locations
in early 2022.
Specialty
Mental Health Clinics Update
To continue its commitment in
providing access to psychedelic-based treatments for mental health
disorders, NeonMind is working to establish NeonMind-branded
specialty mental health clinics. The Company is in ongoing
discussions with a number of key opinion leaders and potential
strategic partners, all of which are progressing successfully and
are currently in late-stage assessments.
Based on the progress to-date,
NeonMind expects its first clinic to go live by early 2022.
Following the first clinic opening, the Company anticipates the
launch of additional clinic locations throughout the course of
2022, continuing to expand locations and services in 2023 and
beyond.
"We continue to be encouraged by
the clinical promise and market potential for interventional
psychiatry," said Rob Tessarolo, President and CEO of NeonMind.
"There is unprecedented demand for these innovative treatments and
we have an opportunity to be the first major player in this space.
We continue to have late stage discussions as we evaluate a series
of potential opportunities and partnerships, which we believe will
be transformational for NeonMind and the patients we aim to
serve."
Mr. Tessarolo added, "Our
discussions are focused on operational partners with a proven track
record of success in the medical treatment space to operate our
national clinic network in a capital efficient manner. We are
encouraged by the reception we have received and look forward to
providing further updates as these discussions continue to
advance."
Strategic
Opportunity in Interventional Psychiatry - Addressing a Major
Medical Market
Mental health disorders have
reached a crisis level, which has been compounded by the effects of
the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, depression and anxiety
disorders. The economic burden is massive with an
estimated cost of $51 billion annually to
Canadians1.
Traditional treatments such as pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy
have varying degrees of effectiveness, but for the most part leave
the crisis largely unaddressed.
A new and promising field of
interventional psychiatry including ketamine/esketamine,
neurostimulation, and psychedelic treatment modalities are showing
unprecedented clinical efficacy. This new modality is establishing
itself as a game changing and staple armamentarium for patients and
clinicians. Despite this, broader access to these
treatments remains extremely limited in Canada due to a lack of
infrastructure and awareness.
Importantly, these treatments
require specialized clinic models and treatment teams which is the
focus of NeonMind's medical services division: to establish
NeonMind-branded, best-in-class, national specialty clinics network
providing interventional psychiatry treatments tailored for local
communities' healthcare needs.
Strategically, NeonMind's
near-term focus is to scale its services to address the large
demand for clinician-validated treatments including
ketamine/esketamine and neurostimulation. With impending regulatory approvals for
psychedelic modalities including MDMA for anxiety disorders,
psilocybin for depression disorders and NeonMind's proprietary
psychedelic treatment for weight management, NeonMind's clinics
will also adopt these treatments and serve as future access points
to psychedelic modalities, providing important strategic exposure
to the psychedelics market.
World-Class
Specialty Clinics Advisory Board to Guide Build-Out of National
Clinic Network
To support a best-in-class
integrated services platform and comprehensive set of programs,
NeonMind has successfully built an industry-leading advisory board
of top-rated clinicians, including Dr. Sagar Parikh, MD, Dr. Roumen Milev,
MD/PhD, and Dr. Gustavo Vazquez, MD/PhD. These board members bring
practical and scientific accolades in depression and anxiety
disorders and interventional psychiatry which will help further our
mission.
All three advisors are highly
renowned and considered to be at the forefront of this
transformational field with academic influence and significant
involvement in national societies and initiatives such as the
Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) and the
Canadian Biomarker Integration Network for Depression (CAN-BIND).
Moreover, they offer vast clinical and research experience from
Canada, US and Latin America with hands-on success in setting up
and managing interventional psychiatry practices that integrate
psychedelics such as ketamine and esketamine. Combined, they have
effectively provided thousands of interventional psychiatry
treatments to patients.
1
Overall Economic Burden of Mental Health,
www.camh.ca/en/driving-change/the-crisis-is-real/mental-health-statistics
About
NeonMind Biosciences Inc.
NeonMind operates two divisions:
(i) a pharmaceutical division engaged in drug development of
psychedelic compounds with two lead psilocybin-based drug
candidates targeting obesity; and (ii) a medical services division
focused on launching specialty mental health clinics that integrate
psychedelic therapeutics into traditional psychotherapy
settings.
In its pharmaceutical division,
NeonMind has two distinct psilocybin drug development programs
targeting obesity. NeonMind's lead candidate, NEO-001, employs
psilocybin as an agonist at the serotonin 5- HT2A receptor, which
is involved in the hallucinogenic effect of psychedelics. The
Company's second drug candidate, NEO-002, employs low-dose
psilocybin as an agonist at the 5-HT2C receptor, which controls
appetite.
NeonMind established a medical
services division with the goal of launching NeonMind-branded
specialty mental health clinics in Canada that incorporate
evidence-backed innovative treatments to address a variety of
mental health needs. For more information on NeonMind, go to
www.NeonMindBiosciences.com
Rob Tessarolo,
President & Chief Executive Officer, NeonMind Biosciences
Inc.
rob@neonmind.com
Tel: 416-750-3101
Investor
Relations:
KCSA Strategic
Communications
Scott
Eckstein/Tim Regan
neonmind@kcsa.com
Tel: 212-896-1210
Media
Inquiries:
KCSA Strategic
Communications
Annie
Graf
neonmind@kcsa.com
Tel: 786-390-2644
The Canadian
Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved nor disapproved the
contents of this news release.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute
forward-looking information. These statements relate to future
events or NeonMind's future performance. The use of any of the
words "could", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected",
"estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to
matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify
forward-looking information and are based on NeonMind's current
belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future
events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular,
NeonMind's drug development plans, its ability to retain key
personnel, and its expectation as to the development of its
intellectual property and other steps in its preclinical and
clinical drug development constitute forward-looking information.
Actual results and developments may differ materially from those
contemplated by forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned
not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The
statements made in this press release are made as of the date
hereof. NeonMind disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly
update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
may be expressly required by applicable securities laws.