ATMA Journey Centers Secures Supply Contract With Havn Life Sciences for GMP Grade Naturally-Derived Psilocybin on the Heels of New Section 56 Exemptions
Supply agreement provides ATMA with a legal and reliable source of psilocybin to fuel its growth and expansion as a leader in therapy, experiential therapist training and facilitator of clinical trials
CALGARY, May 13, 2021 /CNW/ - ATMA Journey Centers Inc. ("ATMA"), an Alberta-based company focused on delivering innovative psychedelic-assisted therapies internationally, announced today that it has entered into a supply agreement with Havn Life Sciences Inc. (CSE: HAVN) (FRA: 5NP) ("Havn Life") that will provide ATMA an ongoing supply of psychedelic substances as it builds out a portfolio of psychedelic Journey Centers and expands its therapist support network and training programs.
Havn is focused on standardized, quality-controlled extraction of psychoactive compounds from plants and fungi, and the development of natural health care products from non-regulated compounds. By producing psilocybin and supplying clinical trials, Havn Life is working towards building a psychedelic supply chain for researchers and clinicians.
"As we continue to build infrastructure and systems to facilitate psychedelic-assisted therapy across Canada and beyond, establishing a trustworthy, reliable and legal source of GMP grade psilocybin is critical for us," said ATMA Co-CEO, Vu Tran. "We're pleased to have an established leader in the industry like Havn as our supply partner to assist in the growth ahead."
ATMA was the first private company in Canada to conduct legal psychedelic-assisted therapy with psilocybin under a Section 56 Exemption granted by Health Canada and continues to work to provide psilocybin-assisted therapy care to Health Canada approved palliative care patients for compassionate reasons.
The supply agreement is timely with the three new Section 56 Exemptions that ATMA patients were granted by Health Canada this week. The ability to assure patients that they are being provided psychedelic medicine from a world class provider is an important component of the therapy protocol, and the company believes the relationship with Havn will allow this assurance in the future as the company works to bring access to more Canadians.
"We are thrilled to add ATMA to our growing list of supply partners," says Havn Life CEO, Tim Moore. "We are seeing a surge in demand for clinical and lab use of naturally-derived compounds, nicely underpinning our business model. As more studies support the efficacy of therapeutic psychedelics, the global interest in these compounds can only expand, and with our growing facility now fully operational in Jamaica, Havn Life is well positioned to meet this demand," he adds.
As ATMA continues to expand access to psychedelic medicine in Canada through its work with Health Canada, the agreement with Havn will allow the company to accelerate its business plan and ability to scale programs both to clients as well as the growing therapist network the company is building. Tran added: "Our goal is to be the leader in Canada for psilocybin-assisted therapy and training. We believe, with psilocybin, we have the ability to deliver therapy aimed at more permanent lasting wellness versus lifelong therapy, and this agreement is a significant piece of this objective."
In addition to the ATMA's growing portfolio of Journey Centers where legal psychedelic-assisted therapy is delivered in a holistic and comprehensive format, ATMA has also pioneered Canada's leading training and education program for therapists seeking the specialized knowledge and experience in offering psychedelic-assisted therapy to clients.
David Harder, Co-CEO of ATMA said: "It was clear to us that there would be two potential bottlenecks to our vision – the first being a reliable source of psychedelic medicine, and the second of having a sufficient pool of trained and willing therapists who would be available to conduct and facilitate the psychedelic-assisted therapy. We have been working to address both issues to provide for scalability when the time comes. This supply agreement with Havn Life will allow ATMA to pursue several avenues to further legal psilocybin therapy in Canada."
In addition to providing a reliable source for the company's Section 56 Exemption patients, the agreement with Havn provides other areas of opportunity and growth of delivering psychedelic medicine by ATMA. The company continues to monitor Health Canada's current review of the Special Access Program ("SAP"), where the government appears poised to consider inclusion of certain psychedelic substances in the program. This would allow therapists to apply for access to specific psychedelic substances such as psilocybin that are not yet legalized in Canada on behalf of specific patients.
Health Canada has recently approved therapists to participate in their own psychedelic experience as part of their training program, recognizing that the experiential component of the therapist training is considered instrumental for a therapist to better understand and facilitate the use of psychedelics in therapy. Within ATMA's nationwide therapist training program, the relationship with Havn will provide an appropriate source of psychedelic substances for those therapists who choose to undergo psychedelic-assisted therapy as well.
Another avenue from which ATMA will benefit from the announced supply agreement is the company's potential involvement in a number of therapy clinical trials. Facilitating clinical trials through its Journey Centers will also allow for therapists participating in the training programs to gain first-hand training on facilitating the medicine.
ABOUT ATMA JOURNEY CENTERS INC.
ATMA is a Canadian company focused on delivering effective and innovative healing and transformative experiences that leverage the potential of psychedelic medicine to awaken the inner healer and allow a deeper connection with self, with others, and with the beauty of our world. ATMA was the first private company in Canada to conduct legal psychedelic-assisted therapy with psilocybin, one of the active hallucinogens found in 'magic mushrooms'. For more information, visit www.atmajourney.com.
ABOUT HAVN LIFE SCIENCES INC.
Havn Life Sciences is a Canadian biotechnology company pursuing standardized extraction of psychoactive compounds, the development of natural healthcare products, and innovative mental health treatment to support brain health and enhance the capabilities of the mind.
SOURCE ATMA Journey Centers Inc
MEDIA CONTACT: Greg Habstritt, President, ATMA Journey Centers Inc., greg {at} atmajourney.com, (403) 215-7510; David Harder, Co-CEO, ATMA Journey Centers Inc., david {at} atmajourney.com
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