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Emyria enters exclusive agreement with UWA to develop drug discovery pipeline of novel psychedelic therapies

Published: 12:56 05 Aug 2021 AEST

Emyria Ltd - Emyria enters exclusive agreement with UWA to develop drug discovery pipeline of novel psychedelic therapies
Emyria aims to identify families of patentable compounds with the greatest promise as new psychedelic-assisted therapies and treatments for other neurological disorders

Emyria Ltd (ASX:EMD) has entered into an exclusive agreement with the University of Western Australia to examine and expand a unique library of proprietary, MDMA-like compounds (or analogues) which have been developed over the last 10 years.

The analogues are unique chemical entities that are structurally similar to 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (‘MDMA’, ‘ecstasy’), but designed to engage different neurological targets, and therefore, elicit potentially unique clinical and neurocognitive effects.

This agreement provides Emyria with a unique drug discovery pipeline, which will assist the company in becoming a leader in the development of psychedelic-assisted therapies and treatments for major neurological disorders.

Huge potential in treating post-traumatic stress disorder

Emyria managing director Dr Michael Winlo said: “MDMA-assisted psychotherapy has demonstrated huge potential in treating severe post-traumatic stress disorder and Emyria is actively working to develop a safe and scalable delivery model for this treatment.

“Emerging treatments like psychedelic-assisted therapy have great potential but require further investment and innovation into new drugs, digital technologies and care models in order to improve efficacy, safety and access for patients.

Opportunity to lead the next generation of MDMA-like compounds

“With this exclusive agreement, Emyria has now added a unique drug discovery pipeline, which complements our existing programs, and which leverages years of research and development by Dr Matt Piggott and his team.

“This agreement creates an opportunity for Emyria to lead the development of the next generation of MDMA-like compounds so they may become registered treatments for patients with major psychiatric and neurological disorders.

“It prepares Emyria to be an Australian leader in the development of novel psychedelic-assisted therapies and also has the potential to identify and develop novel therapeutic agents for other neurological disorders where there are large unmet needs, potentially expanding the range of disorders we can treat.”

Experienced leader backing the screening

Leading the screening and compound expansion program will be Dr Matt Piggott, who has more than 23 years of experience in sophisticated organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, and therapeutic drug development.

He has been investigating MDMA analogues for more than 10 years and is considered a world expert in this area.

Dr Piggott has also provided expert opinions, evidence, and commercialisation advice to numerous multinational pharmaceutical and regulatory agencies.

Exclusive licence option

Under the agreement, Emyria will initially fund a minimum of $491,000 to UWA and Dr. Matt Piggott over the next 12 months.

Funds will support further screening and analysis on the current series of more than 100 novel MDMA-analogues, as well as further novel compound synthesis to expand and broaden the library.

The program is an important step in investigating the therapeutic potential of MDMA analogues as novel, psychedelic-assisted therapies as well as for a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders, by examining the effects of the compounds on a range of neurological targets.

The most promising compounds will be advanced through a full clinical development program. Emyria will also direct a global commercial patent strategy alongside the program to ensure relevant intellectual property is suitably protected.

Upon completion of the program, Emyria will have an option to exclusively licence the most promising compounds (and their associated patent families).

Therapeutic potential

For a number of mental health disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorders, there are limited efficacious treatment options.

Recently, there has been renewed interest in the potential of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to restore function for patients with these disorders with the primary hypothesis that MDMA, via prosocial effects, and in conjunction with psychotherapy, increases the ability of patients to address the underlying psychopathology of their disorder.

MDMA-analogues have also shown promise as treatments for other neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease.

In these indications, it may be desirable to limit or remove the euphoric and stimulant effects of MDMA.

For the treatment of certain psychiatric and neurological disorders, there is an interest in developing MDMA-like compounds that are more selective for specific neurological receptors.

More selective drug candidates have the potential to become treatments for large patient populations with reduced cost and increased efficacy.

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