Shares in Emyria Ltd (ASX: EMD) are falling today after the company shared news of a psychedelic therapy program targeting post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). At its intraday low, the Emyria share price has fallen by 5%.
At the time of writing, it has slightly recovered. Currently, the Emyria share price is down 3.85% – trading for 25 cents.
Let's take a closer look at the drug development and clinical services company's news.
Emyria's MDMA-assisted therapy trial
Emyria – formerly known as Emerald Clinics Limited – is set to sponsor a clinical trial targeting treatment resistant PTSD with MDMA-assisted therapy.
The trial has been developed in partnership with Mind Medicine Australia, a charity working to help end suffering caused by mental illness by creating more treatment options
The trial, which is still pending ethics approval, will evaluate the safety, efficacy and cost benefits of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.
While the company didn't clarify how its trial will differ from others, it stated that most MDMA-assisted therapy involved 3 stages.
- Preparation – in this stage the therapist and patient get to know one another and build trust
- Administration and monitoring – the patient is given a dose of MDMA and supported by two therapists during a session which can last 6 to 8 hours
- Integration – the next day, and at an average of 3 weekly intervals, the patient and therapist discuss the experience and its outcomes.
A cohort of therapists trained for the trial will graduate this month from Mind Medicine Australia's training course. Emyria has a facility ready for the trial.
Currently, the two bodies are working to create an ethics protocol to receive ethics approval.
Prior research on MDMA-assisted therapy
According to Emyria's release, between 5% and 10% of Australians are likely to develop PTSD during their lifetimes. The rate of Australian veterans who will experience PTSD is estimated to be closer to 20%.
The former chair of the Australian Defence Force Admiral Chris Barrie recently encouraged the Australian Government to consider the clinical use of specific psychedelics to help those recovering from trauma.
Emyria stated there is a body of evidence showing that in a controlled environment and supported by psychotherapy, ketamine, psilocybin, and MDMA can help with treatment-resistant mental illnesses.
It pointed to a study by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies that found that 67% of those who received MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD didn't qualify for a PTSD diagnosis after three treatments.
Further, MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD has been granted 'Breakthrough Therapy' status by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Commentary from management
Emyria's managing director Dr. Michael Winlo commented on the company's involvement in the trial:
At Emyria, our strength is in providing safe access to unregistered treatments while also generating clinical evidence. To date, we have cared for over 4,000 patients with major unmet needs (including more than 80 patients suffering with treatment resistant PTSD) and collected high-quality Real-World Evidence. Emyria's clinical advisory, site network and data infrastructure is uniquely positioned to support safe and scalable psychedelic-assisted therapy, much like we have demonstrated and accomplished with cannabinoid medicines.
Emyria share price snapshot
The drop experienced by the Emyria share price as a result of today's news is unlikely to bother most investors. That's because it's a tiny bit of turbulence when compared to the its recent take off.
Despite today's fall, the Emyria share price is up 150% year to date. It's also up 257% over the last 12 months.
The company has a market capitalisation of around $40 million, with approximately 254 million shares outstanding.
