Dalriada Drug Discovery to Collaborate with atai Life Sciences' New Platform Company to Discover Next-Generation Therapies for Mental Health

- Invyxis to leverage Dalriada's agile Turn-Key^TM model to establish and rapidly advance a pipeline of NCEs in mental health

- This strategic collaboration with atai Life Sciences will focus on the creation of small molecule therapies by building on the mechanism of action of psychedelic and related compounds

TORONTO, Jan. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dalriada Drug Discovery ("Dalriada") is pleased to announce a strategic collaboration with atai Life Sciences' N.V. (Nasdaq: ATAI) newly launched platform company Invyxis, focused on developing next-generation small molecule therapies based on psychedelics and related compounds for mental health disorders. The goal of the partnership is to establish a diversified pipeline of new chemical entities (NCE) designed to improve upon current compounds in clinical and preclinical development to treat these disorders.

Initial work will focus on designing novel compounds aimed at the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor with other central nervous system (CNS) targets to follow. In addition to the creation of the pipeline, the collaboration critically includes the creation of a substantial pharmacology platform that will enable deep interrogation of known and novel compounds at a target level.

There is a significant opportunity for improved next-generation therapies to address mental health disorders. Over the past several years, a massive amount of preclinical and clinical knowledge has been generated around the use of psychedelic and related compounds for the treatment of these disorders. Investing in rapidly advancing NCE programs in this emerging and rapidly evolving space is a critical opportunity.

As part of the collaboration, Dalriada assumes responsibility for the discovery R&D programs, including the hit identification, hit to lead, and lead optimization stages up to the nomination of the development candidate. atai will be responsible for the preclinical and clinical development.

Dalriada Chief Executive and co-founder, Diana Kraskouskaya said of the partnership with atai: "We are delighted to be working with atai, a company equally relentless in their pursuit of better medicines. An agile approach is a key factor for success and Dalriada brings this to the collaboration by providing our Turn-Key™ drug discovery resource that includes R&D expertise, infrastructure, and highly skilled scientific teams spanning medicinal chemistry, biology, bioanalytical and computational chemistry."

Dalriada's Chief Scientific Officer, Prof. Patrick Gunning commented: "There is a significant opportunity to deliver enhanced small molecule therapies building on the existing and emerging knowledge of psychedelics' mechanism of action. Our work with Invyxis will add proven and innovative biological and medicinal chemistry capabilities to grow atai's portfolio of NCEs. We look forward to innovating with this global leader in psychedelic therapeutics to deliver much needed and improved treatments for mental health."

atai Life Sciences Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Florian Brand commented: "We are delighted to be collaborating with Dalriada as we launch Invyxis. Dalriada brings exceptional expertise in NCE discovery that complements atai's existing drug discovery and clinical development capabilities. Invixys will enable us to further build out our pipeline and bring forward revolutionary new treatments to mental health patients in need."

About Dalriada

Dalriada is a leading Canadian contract research organization specialized in small molecule therapies. Purposely built as an agile, co-located and uniquely integrated drug discovery partner, Dalriada accelerates the discovery and development journey of high value new small molecule therapeutics from concept to IND. Our partners have access to and support from a team of more than 60 drug discovery scientists (>70% PhD) specialized across all aspects of medicinal & computational chemistry, cell & molecular biology, biophysics & biochemistry, ADME and proteomics. Our unique Turn-Key™ operational model offers the global biotechnology industry a full suite of drug discovery, preclinical development, intellectual property, and business expertise to manage and execute tailored R&D programs. 

To date, Dalriada has supported integrated programs of public and venture capital-backed companies including Antibe Therapeutics, Janpix now a Centessa Company, OxcannTech, and Dunad Therapeutics.  Dalriada's work contributed to Dunad's significant partnership with Novartis.

About atai Life Sciences

atai is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to transform the treatment of mental health disorders. atai was founded in 2018 as a response to the significant unmet need and lack of innovation in the mental health treatment landscape. atai is dedicated to acquiring, incubating and efficiently developing innovative therapeutics to treat depression, anxiety, addiction, and other mental health disorders.

atai's business model combines funding, technology, scientific and regulatory expertise with a focus on psychedelic therapy and other drugs with differentiated safety profiles and therapeutic potential. By pooling resources and best practices, atai aims to responsibly accelerate the development of new medicines across its companies, seeking to effectively treat and ultimately heal mental health disorders.

atai's vision is to heal mental health disorders so that everyone, everywhere can live a more fulfilled life. atai has offices in New York, London, and Berlin. For more information, please visit www.atai.life.

Contact Information:

Dalriada Drug Discovery
Sacha Kennedy
Communications Lead
sacha.kennedy@dalriadatx.com

MEDiSTRAVA Consulting

Sylvie Berrebi/ George Underwood/ Evelyn McCormack
dalriada@medistrava.com 
+44 203 928 6900