Adam JacksonPsyence Group (CSE: PSYG) said it will sell its 11.13% stake in PsyLabs to its affiliate Psyence Biomedical (Nasdaq: PBM) for $1.1 million in stock.
The deal calls for Psyence Biomedical to issue shares valued at 55 cents each to Psyence Group, according to a news release. PsyLabs is a private company that produces psychedelic ingredients for research and drug development.
Psyence Biomedical CEO Neil Maresky said in a statement that the acquisition provides “access to state-of-the-art cultivation and production capabilities that support our goal of becoming a leading, vertically integrated developer of psychedelic-based therapeutics.”
In addition to the usual approvals and conditions, PsyLabs said the deal is dependent on it meeting a product development milestone by the end of October.
The proposal follows other recent restructuring efforts by Psyence Group. In March, the company merged with Newcourt Acquisition Corp., leading to the Nasdaq listing of its subsidiary as Psyence Biomedical. Psyence Group retained about 37% ownership of PBM after the SPAC merger.
The company’s been chopping costs and restructuring its non-clinical business units as well, including transferring some psilocybin cultivation and production assets to a third party. This latest deal could provide extra leeway by swapping private company shares for publicly traded stock and let the company focus on core operations while maintaining indirect exposure to PsyLabs.
Psyence Biomedical has been expanding its research, according a shareholder update last week. The company recently started a phase 2b study on nature-derived psilocybin for adjustment disorder in palliative care. It’s also exploring treatments for alcohol use disorder and other substance use disorders. A trial site in Australia was launched to test two psilocybin doses for adjustment disorder.
Psyence Biomedical said its investor update that it plans to request a hearing on its noncompliance wiht Nasdaq listing requirements. The company was lately trading at 13 cents as of press time.
