Psyence pays $500k to acquire fellow psilocybin biotech Clairvoyant and phase 2 AUD asset

Psyence Biomedical is paying $500,000 in shares to acquire fellow psilocybin-based biotech Clairvoyant Therapeutics and its phase 2-stage alcohol use disorder (AUD) candidate.

Privately-held Clairvoyant is currently conducting a 154-person phase 2b trial of a synthetic psilocybin-based candidate in AUD in the European Union and Canada with topline results expected in early 2025. This candidate “nicely" complements Psyence’s nature-derived psilocybin development program, Psyence’s CEO Neil Maresky said in a Sept. 6 release.

“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,” Maresky added.

Psilocybin is the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. Nasdaq-listed Psyence’s own psilocybin candidate is being prepared for a phase 2b trial as a potential treatment for patients adjusting to receiving a life-limiting cancer diagnosis, a psychological condition called adjustment disorder.

“With this proposed acquisition, we would have line-of-sight to two important phase 2 data readouts that, if successful, would position us as a leader in the development of psychedelic-based therapeutics to treat a range of underserved mental health and related disorders that are in need of effective new treatment options,” Maresky said in the same release.

As well as the $500,000 in shares that Psyence will pay Clairvoyant’s disposing shareholders, Psyence will potentially make two more share-based payments of $250,000 each based on specific milestones. Separately, Psyence has set aside up to $1.8 million to settle Clairvoyant’s liabilities, such as its clinical trial costs.

Psyence and Clairvoyant are far from the only biotechs dabbling in psilocybin, with Compass Pathways posting successful phase 2 results in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) this year. But the wider psychedelics space suffered a high-profile blow this summer when the FDA turned down Lykos Therapeutics’ application to use MDMA to treat PTSD.