Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc Looks Bullish on Growing Acceptance of Psychedelics

Mind Medicine Stock Up 937% Since March 2020 But Just Getting Started

Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc (NEO:MMED, OTCMKTS:MMEDF) is one of the best psychedelic stocks out there. I last wrote about Mind Medicine back in early 2020, just before the company went public.

At the time, I noted that, because of promising research being done on psychedelics and the push to legalize psilocybin (magic mushrooms) in the U.S., the outlook for Mind Medicine stock looked solid. In fact, the early days of psychedelic stocks were reminiscent of the cannabis boom.

And thanks to the growing acceptance of psychedelics, the near- and long-term outlooks for Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc are excellent. If anything, the ramp-up of psychedelic stocks could be more explosive than that of pot stocks.

There’s a growing mountain of evidence to suggest that micro-dosing with psychedelic drugs like psilocybin can be used to treat conditions such as alcoholism, opioid addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression.

The excitement around the medicinal potential of psilocybin and other psychedelics like kratom has helped put Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc into the spotlight and fuel strong capital appreciation.

The company only went public in March 2020, and uncertainty about the acceptance of psychedelics kept MMEDF stock’s share price in a tight trading range.

Last September, though, Mind Medicine stock started to gain traction. Since the start of that month, the stock has soared 935%. Perhaps a little too quick for some investors, but MMEDF stock has managed to hold on to those gains. And investor interest has picked up significantly.

Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com

MMEDF Stock Overview

Mind Medicine is a startup that discovers and develops medicines based on psychedelics.

The company has been working on an intellectual property (IP) portfolio and conducting clinical trials on psychedelic-based medicines that treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and addictions to opioids and alcohol. (Source: “Psychedelic Inspired Medicines,” Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc, last accessed February 24, 2021.)

Bruce Linton, cannabis pioneer and founder/ex-CEO of Canopy Growth (NYSE:CGC), and Kevin O’Leary, Shark Tank‘s “Mr. Wonderful,” were early investors in Mind Medicine. Linton is a board director and O’Leary is a silent partner.

In June 2020, Mind Medicine launched Project Lucy, a commercial drug development program for the treatment of anxiety disorders. (Source: “MindMed Launches Project Lucy Focused on LSD Experiential Therapy For Anxiety Disorders,” Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc, June 4, 2020.)

At the time, Mind Medicine said it was preparing a total of three Phase 2 commercial drug trials based on psychedelic-inspired medicines. That’s one of the most advanced and largest drug development pipelines in the psychedelics industry.

“Having the first mover advantage on a diverse pipeline of later-stage commercial drug trials in mental health is important for MindMed [as a] company, but the learnings we obtain from this pipeline also helps us push the frontier of psychedelic inspired medicines,” said Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc co-founders and co-CEOs JR Rahn and Stephen Hurst. (Source: Ibid.)

In December, Mind Medicine announced the successful completion of a pre-Investigational New Drug (pre-IND) meeting with the FDA for Project Lucy. The company said it expects to open the IND with the FDA in August 2021, with a Phase 2b clinical trial on experimental doses of LSD to treat anxiety disorders.

$72.7-Million Financing Deal

In January, Mind Medicine said that it had closed on its previously announced bought deal. The company issued 20.9 million units at a price per unit of CA$4.40, for gross proceeds of CA$92.1 million (US$72.7 million). (Source: “MindMed Closes Upsized Financing of CAD $92.1m (USD $72.7m) to Meet High Investor Demand,” Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc, January 7, 2021.

Since the company’s founding in May 2019, it has raised CA$237.2 million (US$183.8 million) in investment capital.

Mind Medicine originally entered an agreement to raise gross proceeds of CA$50.0 million, but then increased it to CA$80.0 million in December 2020 to meet strong investor demand.

Drug Discovery Partnership With MindShift Compounds

On February 11, Mind Medicine announced a new partnership with Swiss startup MindShift Compounds AG to develop and patent next-generation compounds with psychedelic or empathogenic properties. (Source: “MindMed Signs Partnership with Swiss Psychedelic Drug Discovery Startup MindShift Compounds AG, Expands Development Pipeline and IP Portfolio with Next-Gen Psychedelic and Empathogenic Compounds,” Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc, February 11, 2021.)

MindShift has already synthesized the first initial compounds, and Mind Medicine has filed the related patent applications. Mind Medicine plans to begin first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trials as early as the first quarter of 2022.

The partnership expands Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc’s clinical pipeline with similar and potentially improved therapeutic properties.

It also adds to Mind Medicine’s IP portfolio development efforts in collaboration with the University Hospital Basel’s Liechti Lab for classic psychedelic compounds, including LSD and psilocybin.

Acquisition of HealthMode, a Leading Machine Learning Medicine Company

On February 18, Mind Medicine announced that it will be acquiring HealthMode, a digital medicine and therapeutics startup that uses artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled digital measurement to increase the precision and speed of clinical research and patient monitoring. (Source: “MindMed Reaches Agreement to Acquire HealthMode, a Leading Machine Learning Digital Medicine Company,” Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc, February 18, 2021.)

The total purchase price is in excess of $41.0 million.

As part of the acquisition, Mind Medicine will be adding Dr. Daniel R. Karlin, formerly of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), to its executive team as chief medical officer. The company also named Bradford Cross, a Google AI and machine learning veteran, as chief technology officer.

Analyst Take

Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc may be one of the most well-known psychedelic stocks, but it’s often overlooked by investors in favor of cannabis stocks. As the most compelling psychedelic stock, though, investors should put Mind Medicine stock on their radar.

The company has a strong pipeline of products in various stages of development, it launched a drug discovery partnership for psychedelic and empathogenic compounds, and it recently raised US$72.7 million.