Psychedelic Therapeutics Startup Cybin To List On NYSE’s Small Cap Market

Psychedelic drug development company Cybin received conditional approval to up-list to the New York Stock Exchange’s small cap equity market.  

The Toronto-based biotech startup announced its conditional approval to list on the NYSE American late Wednesday.  

“Conditional listing approval on the NYSE American is an important milestone in Cybin’s growth journey,” Doug Drysdale, the company’s CEO, said in a statement. “We expect expanded access to investors to further fuel our mission to develop revolutionary psychedelic therapeutics for patients suffering from mental health conditions.”

The company’s listing to NYSE’s small cap equity market, formerly known as the American Stock Exchange, remains subject to final approval by the NYSE American.

Cybin went public on Toronto’s NEO Exchange through a reverse takeover of a mining company in 2020. It has a market cap of $446 million and plans to maintain its listing on the NEO.  

Cybin is currently studying if its sublingual formulation of psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms,” could be a useful treatment for patients with Major Depressive Disorder. The company will launch a phase two clinical trial on its dissolvable oral strip later this year at the University of the West Indies Hospital in Jamaica.

Psilocybin is a tryptamine that binds to serotonin receptor 5-HT2A in the brain. At certain doses, the psilocybin elicits profound changes in consciousness. Studies in academic institutions including Johns Hopkins and Imperial College London have found that psychedelic drugs have significant potential in treating mental health disorders, including certain types of depression.

The psychedelic renaissance is well under way. Nasdaq-listed Compass Pathways, a U.K.-based company that has patented a polymorphic form of psilocybin, and nonprofit Usona both have received breakthrough therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for psilocybin therapies. Other companies like MindMed, which is studying LSD for anxiety and a modified version of ibogaine to treat opioid-use disorder, and Berlin-based Atai Life Sciences have listed on the Nasdaq.

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies recently released data from its phase three clinical trial with MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, showing that 67% of participants who received three treatments no longer qualified for a PTSD diagnosis and 88% experienced a clinically meaningful reduction in symptoms.

Cybin is starting with psilocybin, but the company is developing novel molecules based on other psychedelic compounds. One novel molecule the company is working on is a modified version of a short-acting tryptamine…