Addressing the unmet medical need in mental health.
ENHANCING THE
HUMAN EXPERIENCE
MYND is a life sciences based neuro-pharmaceutical drug development company advancing medicines that leverage psychedelic compounds. Our mission is to further our existing research and patents linking depression and inflammation at the genetic and cellular level to develop pharmaceutical treatments.
We anticipate that our Human Mycogene patents, access to a world-renowned laboratory, the experience of our CSO, Dr. Jefferies, and our existing Health Canada license will result in a significant competitive advantage in the emerging field of psychedelic therapies.
Health Canada License
to perform research on Psychedelics
World class research team operating out of the Michael Smith Laboratories at the University of British Columbia
Proprietary patents for the development of treatment for MDD utilizing Psilocybin
Corporate Presentation
CSE:MYND
Recent Interviews
Recent News Releases
The Human Mycogene
Modulation Program
THE MYND APPROACH
Our lead development program, the Human Mycogene Modulation program (“HMM”), is designed to treat neuropsychiatric disorders through the dosing of formulations of Psilocybin.
Our Human Mycogene patents are the culmination of nearly 30 years of experience and research performed by Chief Science Officer, Dr. Wilfred Jefferies, which directly establishes that depression and other diseases can be treated by regulating inflammation through the modulation of Human Mycogene.
Human Mycogene is an enzyme that regulates various innate immune responses and has been associated with immune signalling and various autoimmune disorders. Dr. Jefferies publication in PLOS ONE on May 17, 2017 linked Human Mycogene and inflammation and led to further meta-analytic research linking Human Mycogene and MDD.
The ownership of this intellectual property is a significant accomplishment that forms the foundation in the development of a treatment for MDD utilizing Psilocybin and significantly advances the company towards the second stage of clinical studies.
THE PROBLEM
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WHO claims depression and anxiety contribute to ~$1T per year in economic costs globally
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Depression affects ~10% of the worlds population making it the 3rd most prominent disease; and is associated with 800,000 suicides a year
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Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) appears to be caused by both genetic and environmental factors which makes diagnosis clinically challenging because of its unpredictable presentation and treatment response
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Pharmaceutical companies have not taken an innovative approach to R&D as we have seen little innovation to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and antidepressants in over 20 years
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Traditional treatments have focused solely on symptom suppression and not the root cause and promote brain health.
THE OPPORTUNITY
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Pharmaceutical companies have been researching psychedelic compounds as it relates to mental health disorders: Johnson & Johnson created a Ketamine derived nasal spray to treat depression deemed “The first major innovation since Prozac”
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Prozac, with 40 million users, accounted for a quarter of Lilly’s $10.8 billion in sales and more than a third of its $3 billion profit in 2001
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Eli Lilly has thrived on sales of Prozac for more than a decade. The wild success of the king of antidepressants: $21.1 billion in sales since its debut in 1987, and helped Lilly become the top seller of psychiatric drugs on the planet`
$35 Billion by 2039
Market size is estimated to over $16 billion in US,
growing at a 2.4% CAGR and growing up to
$35 billion by 2029
R&D Timeline
Stage 1:
Screening
Screening 38 psilocybin analogs using Mycogene as target to identify selected analogs for optimization
Once selected analogs have been identified, these analogs undergo:
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Preliminary toxicity studies
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Preliminary Pharmacokinetic/in vitro ADME studies
Concurrently, explore pre-formulation and manufacturing feasibilities of these analogs
Criteria: Lead analog and backup compounds with wide safety margin and ideal oral PK/Safety profile for further development
Milestone: Identify a lead analog and a number of backup candidates
Stage 2:
Commencement of
CMC Activities
Commencement of CMC (Chemistry, manufacturing and control) activities of the lead psilocybin analog. These activities include:
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Analytical method development and documentation
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Pre-formulation
Drug substance / drug product manufacturing for upcoming IND- enabling studies
Concurrently develop bioanalytical method for rodent and non-rodent species.
Manufacture sufficient quantity of drug product for IND-enabling studies and have a validated bioanalytical method to measure drug product and metabolites.
Stage 3:
IND Enabling Studies
Commencement of IND-enabling studies & CMC activities for clinical phase studies
IND-enabling studies includes:
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Safety studies to identify NOAEL/NOEL/ MTD of the lead psilocybin analog
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Toxicokinetic studies to establish the dose range and ADME profile and stability of lead compound in plasma
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Established the safety profile of lead psilocybin analog
CMC activities
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Finalize clinical formulation
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Prepare sufficient drug product for clinical trial
Milestones:
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Demonstrate lead analog is safe and suitable for oral administration in first in man studies.
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Drug product is ready for phase I clinical trial
Stage 4:
Regulatory Submission
Screening 38 psilocybin analogs using Mycogene as target to identify selected analogs for optimization
Prepare IND package
Draft phase I clinical protocol
Milestones: File IND applications
Management
Dr. Lyle Oberg - Co-Founder & CEO
A physician by profession, Dr. Oberg possesses extensive senior leadership, finance and corporate governance experience. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta as a Progressive Conservative in 1993. He was first appointed to the Alberta Cabinet in 1997 and served numerous posts. He launched a western Canadian initiative to address Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and implemented an interprovincial strategy to share resources and develop new and better approaches for addressing FAS. In May 1999, Dr. Oberg was appointed Minister of Learning, He began the second language initiative in Alberta schools to give students an edge in the world marketplace and initiated the development of the daily physical activity program to improve the health of Alberta students.
Dr. Willford Jefferies
Dr. Wilfred Jefferies is the Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of MYND Life Sciences. Dr. Jefferies is a world-renowned Neuroimmunologist and has extensive research and development experience from leading global institutions and the private sector. Dr. Jefferies has more than 100 publications, holds 60 patents, and has supervised 42 graduate students, 17 postdoctoral fellows and over 100 undergraduate research projects. His research discoveries have created the intellectual foundation for four University spin-out companies, representing a critical avenue for knowledge translation resulting in hundreds of full-time high technology positions. Dr. Jefferies becomes the first Canadian immunologist to be elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Dr. Wilfred A. Jefferies earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology at the University of Oxford
Jordan Cleland - Chief Operating Officer
Jordan Cleland is the Chief Operating Officer of MYND Life Sciences. He previously operated Jordan Cleland Consulting, a communications, public relations, fundraising, leadership coaching and strategy practice. Cleland formerly served as Vice President, Advancement at Olds College in Alberta, Canada where he maximized reputation and relationships with media, alumni, donors, prospective students and governments. Jordan was presented the Gold Medal for Excellence in Leadership at the 2013 Colleges and Institutes Canada conference.Cleland earned a Master’s in Leadership through Otago Polytechnic in New Zealand and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Whitworth University in Washington. He furthered his management and communications expertise in attaining certificates from York University, University of British Columbia and Harvard/MIT. Prior roles were with the Workers’ Compensation Board, KPMG Consulting and in the senior levels of government as a Ministerial Chief of Staff with the Government of Alberta.
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Dr. Iryna Saranchova, PHD - Chief Clinical Officer
Dr Iryna Saranchova has over two decades of experience in immunology and clinical research experience. She
earned her PHD in immunology from the University of British Columbia. Dr Saranchova holds certificates from
Johns Hopkins and Vanderbilt in Design and Interpretation of Clinical Trials and Data Management for Clinical
Research. With several clinicals designed and executed she will be an integral member of the MYND management team moving forward.
Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Mark Geyer
Mark A. Geyer Ph.D. is Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences Emeritus at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and directs the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit of the VISN 22 Veterans Administration Mental Illness Research, Clinical, and Education Center. At UCSD, he is a founding member of the Consortium for Translational Research in Neuropsychopharmacology (CTRIN) and Translational Research in Psychophysiology, Exploration, and Cognition (TRIPEC) groups. In 1993, he co-founded the Heffter Research Institute, which pioneered and supported much of the scienti fi c research that has prompted the exploration of psychedelics as potential therapeutics in humans. He has recently co-founded the Psychedelics and Health Research Initiative at UCSD, which is exploring the effi cacy of psychedelics in the treatment of pain disorders.
Dr. Joseph Martin
Joseph Boyd Martin, M.D., Ph.D., Edward R. and Anne G. Le fl er Professor of Neurobiology, served as Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Medicine from 1997 to 2007. Born in Bassano, Alberta, Canada in 1938, Dr. Martin received his premedical and medical education at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, earning the M.D. degree in 1962. He completed a residency in neurology in 1966 and fellowship in neuropathology in 1967 at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and received his Ph. D. in anatomy from the University of Rochester in 1971. Dr. Martin began his career in academic medicine at McGill University in Montreal, where he eventually became Chair of the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery in 1977. In 1978, he joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School in Boston as the Bullard Professor of Neurology and Chief of the Neurology service at the Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1984, he was appointed the Julieanne Dorn Professor of Neurology at Harvard. Dr. Martin's research focused on hypothalamic regulation of pituitary hormone secretions and on application of neurochemical and molecular genetics to better understand the causes of neurological and neurodegenerative disease.
Dr. Michael Brownstein
Dr. Brownstein has over thirty years of research experience in the fields of genetics, endocrinology and pharmacology. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University; completed his graduate training at University of Chicago, where he earned an M.D. and Ph.D. in pharmacology; and received his clinical training at the Boston Children’s Hospital. He then moved to the National Institutes of Health to work with Julius Axelrod, recipient of a Nobel Prize in 1970 for his studies in the fi eld of neuropharmacology, and remained at NIH after completing his fellowship. Dr. Brownstein served at the NIH as Chief of the Laboratory of Genetics of the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Human Genome Research Institute; and for two years as the Scientific Director of the NIMH Intramural Research Program.
John Trowsdale
John Trowsdale is an Emeritus Professor, specialist in Immunogenetics, in the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge UK. In the early 1980’s he was one of the first to clone HLA genes and to complete sequencing of the entire HLA region. In collaboration with Stephan Beck at the Sanger Centre he provided sequenced common HLA haplotypes, which were used as ‘gold-standard’ references. John’s interest in GenDx is in further development of rapid genetic analysis of highly variable genes such as HLA and KIR in human disease, such as infection, autoimmunity, cancer and pregnancy disorders. The link with GenDx is of mutual bene fi t in driving forward the use of next generation sequencing techniques to achieve rapid and accurate immunogenetic analysis. John visits GenDx to discuss how development of novel techniques at GenDx bene fi ts the research and health care communities.
