FTRP - Field Trip Splits Into Two Companies
Field Trip Health Ltd. (NASDAQ: FTRP) announced that its board approved a reorganization that will result in the separation of its Field Trip Discovery and Field Trip Health divisions into two independent public companies. Field Trip Discovery will be renamed Reunion Neuroscience Inc. and Field Trip Health will be renamed Field Trip Health and Wellness Ltd. Each share of the company will be exchanged for one common share of Reunion and approximately 0.86 common shares of Field Trip H&W. Following the transaction, Reunion will remain listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market and Toronto Stock Exchange, and Field Trip H&W, subject to exchange approval, will list on the TSX Venture Exchange.
As the split is finalized, Field Trip H&W is expected to complete financings for gross proceeds of approximately C$20 million led by Oasis Management Company and the company. the split is the result of a decision in November 2021 to review the corporate structure.
Strategic Rationale for the Transaction
The company’s management believes that division makes sense for both companies. Both Field Trip H&W and Reunion will have separate and focused management and governance best suited to each company’s operational and strategic needs. They will be able to establish distinct capital structures and capital allocation plans matched to the unique strategies and requirements of each company. Maintain current strategic synergies through a Collaboration Agreement, which will provide access to data, assistance in protocol development, preferential access to clinical trial sites, and other benefits and provide differentiated investment characteristics and focused investment.
Joseph del Moral, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented “Over the course of the last three years, we have built two leading companies in the emerging psychedelic industry under a single roof. This strategy has enabled us to develop practical knowledge and operational expertise in psychedelic therapies, as well as one of the most innovative drug development programs in the sector. The results of our strategic review confirmed that both parts of Field Trip are ready to be independent, standalone companies, in a separation that we believe maximizes the long-term value of each business. Importantly, the strategic synergy that underlies our original strategy will be maintained through a mutually beneficial Collaboration Agreement. We believe this is an exciting path to continue the growth of both businesses and provides our shareholders with two distinct investment theses.”
Field Trip H&W
Ronan Levy will lead Field Trip H&W as Chief Executive Officer and Mujeeb Jafferi will serve as President. Mr. Levy currently serves as Executive Chairman, and Mr. Jafferi serves as Chief Operating Officer, of Field Trip Health Ltd., respectively.
Levy said, “Since the opening of our first clinic in Toronto in 2020, we’ve been focused on developing and implementing ketamine and psilocybin assisted therapy protocols as effective treatment options for depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions. Upon completion of the Transaction, our focus will shift to scaling access so that anyone seeking treatment can safely, consciously and responsibly access psychedelic therapies. This new focus will reduce capital requirements, maximize the impact of our existing twelve locations, support new people through the launch of Field Trip at Home and better leverage our digital tools to reach a much larger audience.”
Field Trip H&W’s strategic focus post-Transaction will include:
- operating its 12 Field Trip Health Centers offering psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy treatment programs, including Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) in Canada and the USA and Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy (PAP) in the Netherlands.
- launching its new offering Field Trip at Home , a digital at-home KAP program powered by Nue Life, allowing increased accessibility and scalability for Field Trip H&W’s therapies without significant capital investment.
Reunion
Reunion will continue to operate the drug discovery division focused on research and the development of its novel molecule, FT-104, and other molecules under development, including the FT-200 series. The Company believes that FT-104 has completed the necessary non-clinical and preclinical studies necessary to enable Phase 1 study and has submitted documentation, including a Phase 1 protocol for ethics review in Australia where the Phase 1 study will be performed. Pending successful review, the Company expects that the study will start before the end of the first half of 2022 and may be completed before year-end. The FT-200 Group remains a burgeoning project with a platform for candidate synthesis and evaluation, some identified candidates, and initial intellectual property positions. Candidates in the FT-200 Group are demonstrating interesting pharmacological differences with classical psychedelics that may make them safer serotonin 2A agonists with broader use potential in mental healthcare.