Emyria Limited (ASX:EMD) has appointed consultant psychiatrist Dr Eli Kotler as principal investigator for its upcoming clinical trial on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment-resistant Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), known as EMDMA-001.
The appointment complement’s Emyria’s growing team of consultant psychiatrist advisors such as retired naval veteran and consultant psychiatrist, Dr Richard Magtengaard.
Moreover, the appointment builds Emyria’s clinical experience in psychedelic-assisted therapies as it seeks to develop evidence-based and scalable clinical services for patients with major mental health concerns in partnership with Mind Medicine Australia.
“Has shown great promise”
Emyria’s managing director Michael Winlo said: “We’re delighted that Dr Eli Kotler will be working with our clinical team as Principal Investigator on this pivotal trial.
“MDMA-assisted therapy has shown great promise for difficult to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder patients.
“However, these treatments are resource-intensive requiring fit-for-purpose facilities as well as specially-trained psychotherapists and clinicians.”
Pivotal clinical studies
Winlo added: “Along with our partner Mind Medicine Australia, Emyria has been working on building both the clinical delivery and data capture infrastructure required to support and improve these
treatments so they can become safe, accredited, cost-effective, accessible and evidence-based options for those patients who need them most.
“We hope this will be the first of many, pivotal clinical studies helping evaluate the safety and
efficacy of known and novel psychedelic-assisted therapies targeting a range of major mental health concerns.”
Trial to start in third quarter 2021
Dr Kotler is an experienced consultant psychiatrist specialising in trauma and addictions and has extensive research experience as a principal and co-investigator with novel neuropsychiatric therapeutics.
As Principal Investigator, Dr Kotler will assume responsibility for the conduct and delivery of the EMDMA-001 clinical trial which is anticipated to start in the third quarter of 2021.
Emyria intends to develop other, scalable psychedelic-assisted services with Mind Medicine Australia and is scoping opportunities to licence and evaluate novel compounds utilising Emyria’s unique data-backed care delivery and drug development model.