Creso Pharma’s takeover target poised to enter lucrative US market

Creso Pharma (ASX:CPH) says the Canadian psychedelic research company it has agreed to acquire is making plans to enter the vast United States market, where interest in hallucinogenics is exploding.

Halucenex Life Sciences has entered into a consultancy agreement with Washington DC-based consultancy HeteroGeneity to progress a strategy for using and licensing Halucenex’s psilocybin (“magic mushroom”) compounds.

Creso in March agreed to acquire Halucenex, which is slated to soon begin a phase 2 clinical trial evaluating psilocybin to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans and first responders.

HeteroGeneity is a scientific management company that advises clients conducting research and drug development in the US and Canadian markets. It has been instrumental in assisting a number of companies win drug approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

The United States psychedelic market is expected to reach US$6.7 billion by 2027, according to Data Bridge Market Research, with Oregon in November becoming the first US state to decriminalise the hallucinogenic. Several cities including Santa Cruz, California, the District of Colombia and Cambridge, Massachusetts, have followed suit.

A bill to decriminalise psilocybin, MDMA and LSD is progressing through the California legislature, and the attorneys general from eight states last week joined a lawsuit against the federal Drug Enforcement Administration seeking to allow cancer patients access to synthetic psilocybin for end-of-life care.

“The US is set to become the most important and lucrative market for psychedelic medicines as an alternative treatment, so it is imperative that Halucenex begins to plan its market entry now,” says Halucenex founder and chief executive Bill Fleming.

“We are very confident that HeteroGeneity is the right partner to assist us moving forward, given its tremendous track record with FDA approvals for new drugs, medical devices and treatments.”

The pending PTSD clinical trial will likely play a major role in US market entry, Fleming said.

Creso Pharma chairman Adam Blumenthal said Creso’s board and management were “very pleased” that Halucenex was taking these steps towards market entry. Its centralised operations in Nova Scotia should help speed regulatory approval, he added.

This article was developed in collaboration with Creso Pharma, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.