The MindMed Psychedelic Revolution Will Take Years to Come to Fruition
Current investment into MindMed (NASDAQ:MNMD) stock is very clearly one thing: speculation.
I don’t say that to disparage individuals from establishing a position in shares of the psychedelics company. Rather, I say it to remind investors that there is really no way to know where it’s going at this point.
The development of pharmaceutical therapeutics based on psilocybin and LSD is very nascent. A few years ago we wouldn’t even have been talking about MindMed. This is a new frontier. And MindMed is among a handful of pioneering psychedelics companies at the leading edge.
So investment into MNMD stock right now is a roll of the dice. Depending upon whether it fulfills its promises, you might look like a genius, or you might come up short.
The best way to understand MindMed now is to simply look at its projects, its platform, and its financials. I’ll be clear, I don’t think there’s enough information now to make any sort of reasonable conclusion. But others might take what I’m about to distill as actionable insight. So, let’s get into it.
MindMed’s Projects
The first thing to understand about MindMed is that it has a set of four clinical franchises (which it refers to projects) that it is currently developing. Let’s start by looking at the focus of each of those.
The first is Project Lucy which addresses anxiety and depressive disorders through the application of LSD. The project will enroll 200 patients across multiple centers within the United States beginning sometime in late 2021. It will aim to study how a single dose of LSD affects anxiety and depressive disorders. The project is scheduled to end in late 2023.
The second project is named Layla and uses a non-hallucinogenic molecule named 18-MC derived from the psychedelic ibogaine. The molecule is being tested for its efficacy in treating patients undergoing opioid withdrawal. The phase-2 study will commence in late 2021 and is scheduled to end in early 2023.
Project Angie is testing LSD for efficacy and safety in treating pain. There are fewer specifics regarding the clinical timeline for this project. However, MindMed anticipates that there will be a $31 billion global analgesics total addressable market by 2030. It hopes to commercialize LSD for application in that market and profit.
Project Flow is the last of MindMed’s four clinical franchise projects. It is a study of LSD for use in treating adult ADHD. The project is in phase-2 trials and will enroll 56 patients at two centers in Europe beginning in late 2021. MindMed anticipates that results will be available from that study in mid 2023.
Beyond those four projects, MindMed also has a data platform for the development of other psychedelic therapies called Albert.
Platform and Financials
MindMed is also developing an app for therapists and therapeutics as part of their Albert platform. The company recognizes that there is a gap in the market with current apps lacking clinical evidence-based outcomes.
There isn’t much there to suggest that Albert has succeeded in creating any kind of iterative improvements though. Rather, the Albert platform simply aspires to be better than its predecessors. That means most of what underpins MNMD stock is future hope. After all, its projects are all only in phase-2 of the clinical process.
That should lead investors to wonder if there is a financial case that makes it easier to draw conclusions about the stock. Unfortunately, the numbers are murky as well.
There isn’t much to know about MindMed from a financial perspective. As of March 31 it had $160 million in cash with which to fund its development. It raised capital from offering shares to get to that number.
It’s pretty inconclusive; it’s run of the mill stuff.
Takeaway for MNMD Stock
The one thing that’s clear is that MindMed has a fair bit of time ahead of it before it could expect revenues, if ever. Remember, its projects are in phase-2 trials, meaning they’ll have to first be successful there. They may fail. If they don’t they still face two more trial phases in which they could again be invalidated.
MNMD stock remains a roll of the dice, and these dice won’t land for at least a couple years.
On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Alex Sirois is a freelance contributor to InvestorPlace whose personal stock investing style is focused on long-term, buy-and-hold, wealth-building stock picks.?Having worked in several industries from e-commerce to translation to education and utilizing his MBA from George Washington University, he brings a diverse set of skills through which he filters his writing.
