PurMinds Completes Initial Strategic Equity Investment in Israeli Psychedelic Drug Company IMIO Life

PurMinds BioPharma Inc. (“PurMinds” or the “Company”), a Canadian biopharma company with a special focus on novel drug development for neurodegenerative diseases with significant unmet medical needs, announced today the completion of its strategic equity investment in IMIO Life Ltd., the psychedelic pharmaceutical subsidiary of leading Israeli innovative drug research and development company Nextage Therapeutics Ltd. (TASE: NXTG).  This equity financing positions PurMinds for accelerated growth in the burgeoning psychedelic biopharma sector.

On June 13, 2021, and pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement, PurMinds completed a significant seed funding investment in IMIO Life as the sole equity investor of the psychedelic subsidiary of Israeli pharmaceutical development company Nextage Therapeutics. Following the completion of the investment, PurMinds now holds approximately 13% of the issued and paid-up share capital of IMIO. In addition, PurMinds has warrant rights, enabling the acquisition of additional ordinary shares of IMIO to increase PurMinds’ holdings to approximately 22% of the total issued and outstanding shares in IMIO, with customary anti-dilution rights.

The investment marks the launch of an exclusive collaborative development program to be entered into with IMIO for the purpose of optimizing the delivery and bioavailability of certain psychedelic and non-psychedelic drug candidates by leveraging Nextage’s patented Brain Targeting Liposome System (BTLS) delivery technology. This mature, patented liposomal drug delivery system enables the targeted delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) through the Blood Brain Barrier and is designed to decrease exposure to the active material outside of the brain, thereby reducing potential adverse drug reactions (ADR), substantially lowering API concentrations and increasing drug bioavailability and efficacy. The two companies will share development costs and intellectual property arising from the collaboration.

PurMinds’ strategic investment in IMIO Life also unlocks direct and immediate access to Nextage’s parent company, Nextar Chempharma Solutions Ltd., Israel's leading full-service, fully integrated cGMP-compliant drug development and manufacturing facility in Israel, which holds ISO 13485, ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 17025 and OECD GLP accreditations, and is licensed by Israel’s Ministry of Health (MOH) Pharmaceutical Administration. Engaging Nextar consolidates PurMinds’ R&D resources and allows PurMinds to directly benefit from Nextar’s core expertise in chemistry, chemical processes, formulation development and GMP synthesis, pharmaceutical manufacturing and drug packaging for clinical trials. Nextar’s success in bringing over 100 innovative drug formulations to market reduces contingencies to maximize PurMinds likelihood of success. 

“Our investment in IMIO Life strengthens ties between PurMinds and the IMIO/Nextage /Nextar family of companies and lays a strong foundation for the execution of PurMinds’ non-dilutive strategy and accelerated novel drug-delivery platform” said PurMinds CEO, Ms. Janet Qi, CPA. MBA. “We are extremely excited to be taking the next step in our relationship with IMIO and consider it a significant milestone for PurMinds, one where two companies with complementary core competencies join forces in the development of groundbreaking, patentable drug innovation."

Additional Milestone

PurMinds has also completed its purchase of a sizeable FDA-approved small-molecule drug compound library and has begun the compound selection process. Utilizing PurMinds’ cutting-edge drug screening technology will accelerate the successful identification of optimized, novel and patentable drug development candidates targeting difficult-to-treat neurological disorders and advance these compounds towards first-time-in-human (FTIH) clinical trials. Our selected lead compounds from this library are expected to enter clinical studies by Q1 2022, which makes PurMinds’ library of drug development candidates another essential building block with which the Company can develop new patented, IP-protected derivative products.

“The completion of this key pharma investment reflects our commitment to making dynamic and capital-efficient resource allocation decisions on our internal R&D and external strategic alliances to accelerate our pipelines and efficiently scale our business through a commercial, IP-driven strategy” said PurMinds Chief Commercial Officer, Ms. Robin Shugar, J.D.

About PurMinds

PurMinds is a neuroscience biopharmaceutical company holding a Dealers Licence for controlled substances under Health Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). The Company is dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of breakthrough solutions for devastating neurological diseases with high unmet medical needs, with a special focus on uncovering novel drug targets for neurodegenerative disorders. The Company champions accelerated research and development through a robust and carefully de-risked asset and patent portfolio strategy utilizing cutting-edge biotech development pathways and big data to create exceptional shareholder value.

PurMinds’ Center of Excellence for Translational Neuromedicine and compound production facility in Ontario as well as its expanded research capabilities through its strategic partner’s fully licensed research and development and drug development facilities in Israel form the basis of its core competencies, allowing for concurrent multiple drug development programs, from the early stages of pre-clinical development and analytical testing to patent-protected scaled commercial supply.