- Aiming to make breakthrough psychedelic treatments available to people with mental health issues
- Network of 16 clinics across North America with aim to expand to 30 by the end of 2022
- Owns contract research organization KGK Science that works on clinical studies and product development
What Ketamine One (NEO:MEDI.AQN) does:
Ketamine One (NEO:MEDI.AQN) Capital Limited (LSE:CAPD, FRA:C8D) is aiming to become a North American leader in making breakthrough psychedelic treatments more accessible to people with mental health issues.
With demand for mental health treatments growing in the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the company sees huge potential to address this massive need for services with new psychedelic therapies combined with an emphasis on technology.
Instead of taking a pharmaceutical approach, Ketamine One (NEO:MEDI.AQN) focuses on the infrastructure to make psychedelic therapies successful. It acquires clinics and other businesses that work across the mental health value chain, outside of drug development.
One of its key assets is KGK Science, a contract resource organization that works with various client companies on clinical studies and product development. KGK gives Ketamine One the ability to get involved in the design of clinical trials and contract research.
Another key focus for the company is its clinic network across North America, which now totals 16 locations (15 in Canada and one in the US, as of August 2021).
The company’s two divisions work hand-in-hand, allowing Ketamine One’s partners to take their research and potentially apply it to a clinical setting. Whereas KGK would normally outsource to other clinics to run trials, Ketamine One’s clinic network means that those studies can essentially be completed in-house. KGK also has a regulatory advisory group comprised of former US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada officials who are bringing their extensive experience to support Ketamine One’s strategy.
As you might have guessed, the company is currently focused on ketamine – one of the only psychedelics that is available in the market. The firm is aggregating a network of physical locations staffed with mental health professionals who support and understand ketamine therapy.
Listing on the Canadian NEO Exchange in June of 2021, the company currently boasts a market capitalization of around C$135 million with approximately 103 million shares outstanding (as of August 5, 2021). Led by interim CEO Adam Deffett, and backed by a stacked team of scientific and medical minds, this company is hoping to put ketamine therapy firmly in focus as a safe and effective option for mental health treatment.
How is it doing:
Ketamine One has had a series of announcements since its listing on the NEO Exchange, featuring some unique and exciting new frontiers in ketamine research.
In August, the firm announced that it had signed an exclusive agreement for the use of scent-based virtual reality (VR) technology in psychedelic treatments. The company is partnering with OVR Technology to provide its INHALE Wellness Platform during an initial two-year term in Ketamine One clinics.
The technology is an olfactory-enabled VR platform designed to deepen immersion, promote relaxation, and help manage stress.
Under the agreement, OVR Technology will provide its proprietary technology and services for Ketamine One to use with its psychedelic-assisted treatments involving ketamine, psilocybin, DMT, and MDMA to help improve patient outcomes.
As for KGK Science, the organization has applied for a controlled drugs and substances dealer’s licence, which will enable it to work with others to conduct clinical trials on psychedelic molecules. The licence would also allow KGK to act as a centralized distributor for large, multi-location clinical trials, according to Ketamine One.
The firm completed pre-qualification audits of its Canadian clinics with KGK ahead of future clinical trials. The audits should let KGK conduct clinical trials on psychedelics and nutraceuticals.
Ketamine One is also using a Health Canada-approved advanced brain-scanning NeuroCatch Platform, which is being applied at its Integrated Rehab and Performance Limited (IRP) clinic in Victoria, British Columbia. The platform is a Class II medical device developed by HealthTech Connex that conducts a rapid six-minute scan to measure and report on cognitive brain function.
At IRP, Ketamine One is focused on patients from the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and various other first responder organizations. Its partner, NeuroCatch, also collaborates with Alberta Children’s Hospital, CAA Hockey, Helius Medical Technologies (CSE:HSM), Kids Brain Health Network, Mayo Clinic and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.
Inflection points:
- Close on Letters Of Intent with clinics in New York and Miami with a goal to reach 30 clinics in H12022
- Further acquisitions that fit within the company’s business model
- Expanding product portfolio to include other forms of psychedelics
- Implementation of a wearable data integration solution to track treatment outcomes across clinic network
What the boss says:
Commenting on his appointment as Interim CEO in July of 2021, Adam Deffett told shareholders: “We are fortunate to have a leadership team with great depth, decades of operating experience and detailed knowledge of our businesses.”
Deffett added: “Our team is working hard to establish Ketamine One as the preeminent mental health platform for patients, by aggregating existing medical clinics and establishing new locations, while supporting KGK Science as a leading clinical research organization and implementing leading technologies throughout the organization wherever possible.”
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas