Press Release
Prof. Nutt Will Drive Progression of a Pipeline of New Psychedelic Medicines, Helping to Define a Clear Development Pathway to Treat Addiction Through Psychedelic Medicines
Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – June 24, 2021) – Awakn Life Sciences Corp. (NEO: AWKN) (Awakn), a biotechnology company with clinical operations developing and delivering psychedelic medicine to treat Addiction, announced today that globally renowned neuroscientist and addiction researcher, Prof. David Nutt, has joined its executive team as Chief Research Officer.
This appointment is driven by the expansion of Awakn’s psychedelic drug and therapy development pipeline targeting Addiction. In particular the identification, and development of several potential new candidates with unique properties to better treat a broad range of addictions, acquired from Prof. David Nutt’s Equasy Enterprises in March 2021; the licencing of the intellectual property from world’s only Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy trial for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) from the University of Exeter in March 2021. And finally, the world’s only Phase IIb trial for MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for AUD.
In this new role, which is in addition to Prof. Nutt’s existing role as Chair of Awakn’s Scientific Advisory Board, Prof. Nutt will lead Awakn’s neuroscience research of psychedelic compounds for treating a broad range of addictions where the consequences for the patient, their family, and society are at present most severe. Prof. Nutt will work closely with Dr. Shaun McNulty, Awakn’s Chief Scientific Officer, who leads Awakn’s Pre-Clinical stage and Clinical stage research and development programs.
Professor David Nutt commented, “I am delighted to take on the role of Chief Research Officer in this exciting new biotechnology company that promises to revolutionise the treatment of addictions. Awakn’s combination of pre-clinical and clinical research uniquely positions Awakn to solve some of the biggest societal problems.”
Anthony Tennyson, Awakn’s CEO commented, “Our ambition is to fully integrate effective psychedelic-based treatments into mainstream healthcare to better treat Addiction. Prof. Nutt is one of the world’s leading experts in this field and is now part of our executive team to help us drive forward our preclinical discovery projects. With Prof. Nutt and our already strong R&D team we are positioned as a leader in the psychedelic-biotechnology industry.”
About Professor David Nutt
Prof. David Nutt is currently the Edmond J. Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology and Director of the Neuropsychopharmacology Unit in the Division of Brain Sciences.
After 11+ entry to Bristol Grammar School David was awarded an Open Scholarship to Downing College Cambridge and then completed his medical training at Guy’s Hospital London, continuing in neurology to MRCP. After completing his psychiatric training in Oxford, he continued there as a lecturer and then later as a Wellcome Senior Fellow in psychiatry. He then spent two years as Chief of the Section of Clinical Science in the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in NIH, Bethesda, USA. On returning to England in 1988, he set up the Psychopharmacology Unit in Bristol University, an interdisciplinary research grouping spanning the departments of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, before moving to Imperial College London in December 2008 where he leads a similar group with a particular focus on brain imaging especially PET.
David is currently Chair of DrugScience (formally the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs (ISCD)). He was previously President of the European Brain Council, the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP), the British Neuroscience Association (BNA) and the British Association of Psychopharmacology (BAP). He is a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and of Psychiatrists and of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He is also the UK Director of the European Certificate and Masters in Affective Disorders Courses and a member of the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy. He has edited the Journal of Psychopharmacology for over two decades and acts as the psychiatry drugs advisor to the British National Formulary. He has published over 500 original research papers, a similar number of reviews and books chapters, eight government reports on drugs and 33 books.
Previously he has been a member and then Chair of the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD – 1998-2009), a member of the HEFCE/NHS Senior Lecturer Selection Panel and of the MRC Neuroscience Board. Other previous national contributions include serving as the medical expert on the Independent Inquiry into the Misuse of Drugs Act (2000 Runciman report), and membership of the Committee on Safety of Medicines, the Committee on NHS drugs and the Ministry of Defence Science Advisory Board. He was the clinical scientific lead on the 2004/5 UK Government Foresight initiative “Brain science, addiction and drugs,” that provided a 25-year vision for this area of science and public policy.
David broadcasts widely to the general public both on radio and television including BBC science and public affairs programmes on therapeutic as well as illicit drugs, their harms and their classification. He also lectures widely to the public as well as to the scientific and medical communities; for instance has presented three times at the Cheltenham Science Festival and several times for Café Scientifiques. In 2010, The Times Eureka science magazine included him in the 100 most important figures in British Science, and the only psychiatrist.
About Awakn Life Sciences Corp.
Awakn Life Sciences is a biotechnology company with clinical operations; researching, developing, and delivering psychedelic medicine to better treat Addiction. Awakn’s team consists of world leading chemists, scientists, psychiatrists, and psychologists who are developing and advancing the next generation of psychedelic drugs, therapies, and enabling technologies to treat Addiction. Awakn will also deliver evidence backed psychedelic therapies for Addiction in clinics in the UK and Europe and through licencing partnerships globally.
