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CEOs Kelsey Ramsden and Anthony Tennyson Talk Psychedelic Partnerships: “Further, Faster, Together”

 Mind Cure Health Inc. (CNSX: MCUR) (OTCMKTS: MCURF) and Awakn Life Sciences Corp. (NEO: AWKN) (OTCMKTS: AWKNF) were two of several companies to make appearances at Wonderland: Miami last week, giving The Dales Report an opportunity to catch up their CEOs in person.

Kelsey Ramsden of MINDCURE and Anthony Tennyson of Awakn sat down with TDR for a casual industry chat aboard the Maryam last week. The two companies recently announced plans to collaborate, in which MINDCURE will distribute Awakn’s ketamine protocol for alcohol use disorder throughout clinics in the U.S. and Canada, via its digital platform, iSTRYM.

Teams Working Together

“For us, it’s this idea of having our digital therapeutics platform have the best science-backed evidence-based protocols in the game,” said Ramsden. “It was clear that Awakn was in the position to deliver that—starting with ketamine, because that’s what’s legal—and there couldn’t have been a better first partner.”

Ramsden said the treatment protocol helps to unleash a new indication for ketamine treatment, something that is primarily offered for depression and pain management, but not for alcohol use disorder. 

And for Awkan, Tennyson said the company stands confidently in the knowledge of its team. “We know we are deploying our assets into creating solid evidence-based therapies and treatments, and then it’s about choosing the right partners to enable us to accelerate and to scale properly. With Kelsey and her team, there was no question it was the right choice for us.”

While the two met for the first time on Zoom, a recent in-person meeting in Dublin helped solidify the relationship: “As good as Zoom is, collapsing distances and enabling you to meet and get things done, actually meeting in person for the first time, we got more done and came to agreements within 35 minutes,” said Tennyson. “That would have ordinarily taken a couple of meetings over Zoom.” 

Are More Partnerships Coming to The Space?

From executives to investors, the feeling of gratitude for a return to having shared human experiences, rather than digital ones, was a universal one at the Miami conference. 

“I think coming out of this time in Miami, we’re going to see a lot more partnerships, because there is a bit of a pent-up opportunity in the space for people to do work together, where you just need to feel confident in the person leading the other team, that they’re going to deliver,” said Ramsden. “I think we all have such great opportunity but delivering on the results is really all that matters at this moment.”

Although the industry is in its early stages, Ramsden pointed out that while there are many publicly traded companies on the come up, a number of them are running out of runway. They might have good programs, but not enough cash to execute. These are the companies to look to when it comes to seeking partnerships.

Strategy plays an important role too, she said: between Awakn’s approach with clinics and research, and MINDCURE’s focus on technology and drug development, the two companies have an opportunity to expand their ideas “in a really thoughtful way.”

“The faster you can go with someone who has been working diligently through partnership, you’re going to get further faster together than starting your own thing, every time.”

Why Alcohol Use Disorder?

While mental health disorders like depression and PTSD are currently in the spotlight when it comes to psychedelic therapy, alcohol use disorder is something that deserves an equal amount of attention. 

“It’s a serious and debilitating disease that affects millions of Americans every year, millions of people globally every year, and the treatment outcomes are poor: three out of four people are back drinking within 12 months of seeking treatment and that’s just not good enough.”

Tennyson said there is strong research to show that psychedelic therapy has the ability be much more effective than existing treatments.

Tune into the full interview above to learn more about the unique partnership MINDURE and Awakn have established. 


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