Albert Labs, a British-Columbia based biotech company, announced Thursday that it closed its private placement and that its shares will begin trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE). Albert Labs will trade under the ticker symbol “ABRT.”
“The listing is the first of many major milestones for Albert Labs. We are very excited by the market potential, as the first company pursuing psilocybin Real World Evidence trials in the UK. We believe this will be an attractive and ethical proposition for new and existing investors alike - Which enables Albert Labs to develop novel therapeutics whilst treating patients who are in need,” said Dr Michael Raymont, CEO and chairman of the company.
Albert Labs focuses on producing medicines derived from psilocybin to treat “cancer-related distress.” The placement was a convoluted one, involving a reverse take-over transaction with ME. Resource Corp. Alberta Labs closed its placement with nearly $5 million in funding raised, with a large portion of that coming from the company’s senior management team.
“Included in this financing round was significant investment from the Albert Labs’ senior management team to the sum of $2,046,660, and the balance of $2,690,215 was coordinated with support from Chrystal Capital Partners based in the UK,” according to the press release.
Now that investors are able to buy shares of Alberta Labs on the CSE, the company will have even more funding coming in. Leaders hope that this will allow the company to further its goals of developing and distributing psilocybin medicines and therapies.
“The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the public offering, together with its existing cash and cash equivalents, (i) to manufacture and deliver natural psilocybin, in the form of a prescription drug known as KRN-101 to trial centres, and (ii) for the effective conduct of Real World Evidence (RWE) trials, including all necessary partnerships, to lead to a regulatory approved medication for treating anxiety and depression, initially in cancer patients,” the press release reads.
“The safety, efficacy, and quality of medicinal products have classically been assessed by the use of randomised control trials (RCTs). The use of classical RCTs in medicinal development, can though be long, costly, and may delay a product’s access to patients who have few other therapeutic options. Recently published guidance by the MHRA in the use of Real World Evidence (RWE) in support of licensing indications, provides clear validation for Albert Labs use of a RWE based regulatory approach. Within the UK this will allow us to accelerate access for patients whilst collecting valuable clinical data supporting the development of our product KRN-101," said Dr Malcolm Barratt-Johnson, chielf medical officer of the company.
