Albert Labs

Overview

Cancer treatments have come a long way, but they have a major blind spot that needs to be addressed: mental health associated with the diagnosis. In 2020, there were 18 million new cancer cases globally, and that’s expected to climb to 27.5 million new cases annually by 2040. Cancer-related distress, including depression, anxiety, and existential crisis impacts 56 percent of cancer patients.

Despite this need, cancer-related distress often goes untreated due to contraindications with cancer treatments. These risks often result in oncologists being fearful to prescribe traditional first-line antidepressants, leaving cancer patients with only psychiatric counseling to treat their distress which has limited success in this patient cohort.

Facing a cancer diagnosis is difficult enough. Facing it without effective psychiatric support is even more challenging. Patients report feelings of helplessness and a hastened desire for death. Researchers are now exploring how natural psychedelic compounds can be transformed into practical mental health treatments for cancer patients. Psilocybin has already been shown to be effective in treating major depression. Will these bold new medications finally give patients relief?

Albert Labs has a proprietary and provisionally patented process for creating the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) used in its inaugural medication. The company aims to produce scalable, consistent, and standardized medicines using its advanced culture technology. The improved quality and consistency enabled by this patent-pending process are paramount to scaling the EU-GMP production of psilocybin API. The same process and methodology can also be applied to the cultivation of other fungi species, opening up the untapped potential market of bio-active fungal compounds.

This is not a synthetic or biosynthetic process and does not use or introduce harmful synthetic chemicals or genetically modified bacteria in the production stages. In order to conduct this research, Albert Labs has a Health Canada Licensed facility. This regulatory sign off enables the possession, production, assembling, sale, and delivery of psilocybin and other psychoactive controlled substances.

Dr. Malcolm Barratt-Johnson, chief medical officer of Albert Labs, explained why the company is focusing on treating cancer patients in an earlier interview, “We’re looking at depression and anxiety in cancer patients. We haven’t looked into this area very much over the last 20 to 30 years because of the interaction of many antidepressants in cancer patients. With psilocybin, we can look at this group because the potential risk of interaction is significantly lower.”

Patients with cancer-related distress are the initial focus of the company’s research and development. This focus is due to the enormous unmet need within this patient cohort and it goes a long way to mitigate regulatory delays and costs. Real-world evidence (RWE) is the clinical model employed to accelerate the company’s clinical trials. RWE is encouraged in the UK and utilizing a wide array of data, beyond what is generated in traditional randomized controlled trials is endorsed. Randomized controlled trials can take five to 12 years to complete, whereas using a pragmatic approach can bring a new medication to market significantly quicker. RWE was famously used to accelerate the development of COVID-19 vaccines.

Albert Labs has an existing relationship with the largest oncology center in Europe. This partnership will allow the company to commercially deploy its innovative treatment to cancer patients rapidly. The company won’t need to build out its own clinics — it only needs regulatory approval to begin treating patients.

A diverse team of managers, doctors, and scientists leads the company toward achieving its goals. Dr. Malcolm Barratt-Johnson, the CMO of the company, has an extensive background in pharmaceutical development having formerly served as a regulator for MHRA, the UK’s regulatory agency. Dr. Barratt-Johnson has also worked for European regulatory bodies and large companies, such as AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

Dr. Michael Raymont, CEO and director, has diverse management experience in multiple industries, including private and public sectors. His time in the public sector is notable as he led the National Research Council, the largest federal research and development organization in Canada. He successfully led and oversaw billions of dollars worth of investment into the pharmaceutical industry.

Company Highlights

• Through existing relationships with leading hospital centres and research universities, including the Christie Hospital, the largest oncology centre in Europe, and the University of Manchester, Albert Labs will pursue the rapid commercial deployment of its natural, psilocybin-based prescription medication upon completion of clinical trials and receipt of regulatory approval.
• Using the real-world evidence clinical model, the company will accelerate clinical trials and allow it to reach regulatory approval much faster than traditional trials.
• Albert Labs has a proprietary and provisionally patented process for producing the active ingredient in its medicines that allows improved scale and standardization.
• A diverse team of doctors, scientists and managers, who together have brought more than 200 drugs to market, is leading the company toward receiving approval for its inaugural medicine and beyond.
• Albert Labs has signed a letter of intent with full-service contract-research organization NGENū to carry out the company's first in-human study of its primary drug target, KRN-101.