NetworkNewsWire
Editorial Coverage: Product offerings focused on enhancing
mental health and wellness are broadening as companies that are
committed to helping consumers are looking for a variety of ways —
both natural and prescription-based — to offer support, support
that includes an array of new functional foods and medicines.
Canadian company Champignon Brands Inc. (CSE: SHRM)
(SHRM
Profile) is one of the first to provide such natural
products as it sets out to expand its product line, including
offering products containing mushrooms, which have been proven
effective in the mental health and wellness space. Another company
focused on natural health solutions is Herbalife Nutrition
Ltd. (NYSE: HLF), a global nutrition company. Going with
more traditional mental health options, Axsome Therapeutics
(NASDAQ: AXSM) recently reported favorable results for its
late-stage, experimental depression treatment, which showed
significant improvements in patients with major depressive
disorder. BioXcel Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BTAI)
focuses on utilizing cutting-edge technology and innovative
research to develop its high-value therapeutics aimed at
transforming patients’ lives. And with colleagues and commercial
operations in an estimated 100 countries, Allergan (NYSE:
AGN) is committed to working with physicians, healthcare
providers and patients to deliver innovative treatments that help
people around the world live longer, healthier lives.
- The widening legalization of psilocybin, an active ingredient
in mushrooms, is allowing some companies to create new foods,
drinks and medicines.
- Major research institutions and investors are throwing their
weight behind the growing mushroom trend.
- Psilocybin offers potential as both a mental health medicine
and an ingredient in wellness foods and drinks.
To view an infographic of this editorial, click here.
Make Room for Mushrooms
With the legalization of medical cannabis in many jurisdictions,
regulators and businesses are looking at other natural drugs that
might be legally available for consumers. Mushrooms, with their
powerful ability to affect brain chemistry, looks set to become the
next major legalization drive in America.
A wide range of companies and investors alike are moving to make
the most of this space. Like the mushrooms themselves, new
companies are springing up out of fertile ground. These companies
aim to provide customers with the health benefits that mushrooms
can bring, while providing investors with opportunities in this
nascent market.
The ‘Shroom Boom
Among these companies is Champignon
Brands Inc. (CSE: SHRM), one of the only public
companies focused entirely on a mushroom-to-market strategy.
Champignon currently offers consumer packaged goods (CPGs) in the
form of teas that capitalize on the use of functional mushrooms and
provide an opportunity for entry-level exposure to the burgeoning
boom in mushroom products.
Champignon is committed to cultivating and distributing
artisanal medical mushrooms and the CPGs derived from those
mushrooms. As a legal market, this is new territory, and Champignon
is a young company. The company recently successfully completed its
initial public offering of more than 18 million common shares at a
price of $0.15 per share for total gross proceeds of more than $2.8
million. The company’s common shares were listed on the Canadian
Securities Exchange beginning February 27, 2020. After a brief halt
pending IPO completion, the common shares resumed trading under the
symbol SHRM on March 2, 2020. In addition, Champignon working to
secure listings in the United States and Germany as it seeks to
create a strong presence in both North America and Europe.
This deliberate approach looks to be a smart strategy for this
emerging presence in the functional mushroom sector. Laying the
global groundwork now should position Champignon to make the most
of the high-profile American market while also reaching other
high-value, health-conscious consumers around the world.
Naturally Occuring New Medicine
Psilocybin is at the core of the work Champignon is doing. A
naturally occurring chemical, psilocybin can be found in hundreds
of types of mushrooms, providing the fungi with their psychedelic
qualities. While the power of psilocybin has been recognized for
decades, its medical potential is now being fully researched.
This mushroom momentum is driven by growing acceptance from
medical professionals and institutions. Thomas Insel, former
director of the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, and Paul
Summergrad, former head of the American Psychiatric Association,
are both on the board of advisers for Compass Pathways, a leading
psilocybin company. Johns Hopkins, one of America’s most
prestigious research universities, has established a new
psychedelic research center focused on examining the potential of
such chemicals, largely funded
through the efforts of angel investor Tim Ferriss.
Ferriss isn’t the only high-profile investor to have taken an
interest in the tasty fungi. Bruce Linton and Kevin O’Leary are
seed investors in MindMed, while Peter Thiel
has invested in Compass
Pathways. Wild as it might seem to outsiders, Champignon is
working in a field with growing scientific and financial
credibility.
The market available to companies such as Champignon has long
been limited by laws restricting the use and sale of psilocybin
mushrooms and their derivatives. Now those laws are starting to
change.
Denver, Oakland, and most recently Santa Cruz
are among the places that have already decriminalized psilocybin.
Some of the same people who championed those changes are now
involved in wider efforts, with campaigns for decriminalization in
areas such as Oregon and Iowa. In November 2019, Decriminalize
California teamed up with the Beckley Foundation to replicate the
success of decriminalization in Oakland throughout the state of
California. Vermont, Michigan and Washington have also commenced
movements toward legalization.
The case for legalizing shrooms isn’t the same as for cannabis.
While some of the same arguments about health benefits and personal
choice are fielded, psilocybin legalization doesn’t involve the
huge potential tax benefits or the massive implications for the
criminal justice system. Companies such as Champignon aren’t
looking to tap into the same huge painkilling market as THC and CBD
products. Instead, these companies occupy a significant niche
focusing on supporting mental health, where it is believed that
psilocybin could create new treatments and potentially radically
improve the lives of sufferers.
Support for legalization isn’t clearly divided along party
lines. Peter Thiel is a Trump ally while a recent attempt to make
research easier was pushed by radical Democrat Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez. Like hemp farming, this is an industry with
potential to reach across the political divide.
Building a Strategy Around Medicine
As psilocybin legalization grows, so has research research and
development. Studies are looking at how to refine and synthesize
the chemical as well as how to integrate it into product
development. The R&D element is a essential part of
Champignon’s strategy.
Any company developing products within the health and wellness
sector needs a medicinal IP strategy in order to provide the unique
products and medical advances that make a medical company stand out
— both to customers and investors. Champignon’s plan is to use
laboratory experiments to develop a way of biosynthesizing
psilocybin, with the aim of reaching this milestone marker within
the first three months of experiments. This would allow optimized
and scaled production of pharmaceutical grade psilocybin.
With efficient, large-scale production, the company will be able
to deploy its products in clinical settings, thus staking a serious
claim in the medical market.
Psilocybin products have value not just in the clinical space
but also in the retail one. Functional foods and beverages are
growing in popularity thanks to cannabis and CBD, and psilocybin
provides an opportunity to diversify this $200 billion sector with
new and distinctive products.
Functional foods and drinks such as Champignon’s Vitality Superteas and its upcoming mushroom-infused cold brew coffee are a
natural entry point for psilocybin into this sector. Both of these
one-of-a-kind product offerings will reach a broader market and
raise awareness of mushrooms’ emerging potential. Champignon plans
to use a mix of national brick-and-mortar distribution, e-commerce
and online influencer marketing to raise the profile of its
products and build a strong, loyal customer base.
The Business of Health and Wellness
Mental health and wellness is a lucrative industry, with many
companies committed to offer a range of products designed to help
consumers live better lives.
Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) offers
products that, when combined with a balanced diet and exercise,
provide consumers with a comprehensive and personalized solution to
their nutrition and wellness goals. Herbalife products include
protein shakes and bars, teas, aloe, vitamins and sports hydration
products, all backed by science and designed to meet customers’
diverse needs.
Axsome Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: AXSM)
develops and commercializes differentiated medicines that expand
the treatment options available to caregivers and improve the lives
of patients living with CNS disorders. Most recently, the company
reported favorable results for its late-stage, experimental
depression treatment, which showed significant improvements in
patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) (http://nnw.fm/k1GuF).
BioXcel Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BTAI) is a
clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that utilizes novel
artificial intelligence, or AI, to identify the next wave of
medicines across neuroscience and immuno-oncology. BTAI employs a
unique AI platform in an effort to reduce therapeutic development
costs and potentially accelerate timelines, while aiming to
increase the possibility of success.
Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN) is a global
pharmaceutical leader focused on developing, manufacturing and
commercializing branded pharmaceutical, device, biologic, surgical
and regenerative medicine products. The company is committed to
a social contract that “begins where there is a
patient with an unmet need. As we identify needs in our areas of
expertise in the U.S. and around the world, we are committed to
risking billions of dollars to develop life-enhancing
innovations.”
With legalization spreading and a wide range of companies
dedicated to enhancing the mental health and well-being of those in
need around the world, the use of mushrooms certainly seems to have
a place in the space.
For more information on Champignon Brands Inc., visit Champignon
Brands Inc. (CSE: SHRM)
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