NEW YORK, June 9, 2021 /CNW/ -- Mind Medicine
(MindMed) Inc. (NASDAQ: MNMD), (NEO: MMED), (DE: MMQ) (the
"Company"), a leading clinical-stage pharmaceutical company and
pioneer in the field of psychedelic inspired medicines, announces
that J.R. Rahn, the Company's co-founder and chief executive
officer, is stepping down as chief executive officer and a
director, and that its chief development officer, Robert Barrow, will assume the position of chief
executive officer with immediate effect. The Company will also
initiate a comprehensive search for a chief executive officer, in
which Mr. Barrow will be a candidate, and Mr. Rahn will advise the
Company during its leadership transition. The transition of the
Company's leadership team will enable the Company to pursue
aggressively its clinical development programs and development of
its companion innovative digital technologies.
In reflecting on his tenure, Mr. Rahn noted "under my leadership
the Company did a remarkable job of getting off to its
unprecedented start, and building itself into a leader in the
psychedelic medicine industry."
During Mr. Rahn's tenure as chief executive officer, he helped
to assemble a diverse clinical pipeline, establish world class
research partnerships and was an instrumental part of the
leadership team as MindMed went public on the NEO Exchange in
Canada last year and recently
listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Under Mr. Rahn's leadership, the
Company has raised over US$204
million (net of costs), making it one of the most
well-capitalized companies in the psychedelic medicine industry.
Mr. Rahn led the hiring of the Company's world-class drug
development and technology team capable of bringing psychedelic
inspired medicines to market through a regulatory pathway
worldwide.
Mr. Rahn said, "Since starting MindMed, it has been our goal to
progress psychedelic medicines to one day help heal patients with
mental illnesses. Our work to date and ability to raise capital has
taken us leaps and bounds closer to that vision. This chief
executive officer transition is a natural progression for MindMed
as the Company heads into later stage clinical trials. I am
thankful for the incredible team of scientists, doctors, innovators
and investors who continue to support MindMed. This all could not
have been possible without you."
Robert Barrow is an accomplished
pharmaceutical executive with over a decade of experience leading
organizations and drug development programs in a variety of disease
areas. Mr. Barrow is a recognized leader in the psychedelic
industry, in which he has played a central role in the design and
execution of a number of successful regulatory and drug development
strategies.
Mr. Barrow previously served as director of Drug Development
& Discovery at Usona Institute, where he led preclinical,
clinical and regulatory development efforts for Usona's psychedelic
drug candidates and was responsible for obtaining Breakthrough
Therapy Designation for psilocybin in the treatment of Major
Depressive Disorder. Prior to his tenure at Usona, Mr. Barrow
served as chief operating officer and a director of Olatec
Therapeutics where he oversaw the execution of numerous early and
late-stage clinical trials in the fields of analgesics,
rheumatology, immunology and cardiovascular disease. Mr. Barrow has
also served as a technical and strategic advisor to numerous large
and small pharmaceutical companies developing novel central nervous
system therapeutics and has been an invited speaker at multiple
industry and scientific presentations. Mr. Barrow holds a Master's
degree in Pharmacology from The Ohio State
University and a Bachelor of Science degree from
Wake Forest University, where he
graduated summa cum laude.
Mr. Barrow added, "We would not be here without J.R.'s vision
and perseverance to establish us as a pioneer in this fast evolving
new industry. I am incredibly excited to step into this new role
and honored by the confidence placed in me by J.R., my colleagues
and the board of directors. Having worked closely with J.R. and the
entire organization over the past half-year, I am confident that
this transition will be seamless. I look forward to continuing the
execution of our core mission and strategies. We remain committed
to continuing to advance MindMed as a leader in the psychedelic
medicine industry and as a central nervous system-focused
pharmaceutical company more broadly."
This progression of management will bolster MindMed's ability to
execute on its drug development and digital medicine strategies
with an executive team united behind Mr. Barrow, including Dr.
Miri Halperin Wernli, PhD as
executive president and director; Dr. Daniel R. Karlin, MD, MA as chief medical
officer; Bradford Cross as chief
technology officer; and Dave Guebert
as chief financial officer.
As part of the chief executive officer transition, the Company
has agreed to issue Mr. Rahn 1.5 million subordinate voting shares,
which issuance is subject to applicable regulatory approvals
About MindMed
MindMed is a clinical-stage psychedelic medicine biotech company
that seeks to discover, develop and deploy psychedelic-inspired
medicines and therapies to address addiction and mental illness.
The Company is assembling a compelling drug development pipeline of
innovative treatments based on psychedelic substances including
psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, DMT and an Ibogaine derivative, 18-MC. The
MindMed executive team brings extensive biopharmaceutical
experience to MindMed's approach to developing the next generation
of psychedelic-inspired medicines and therapies.
MindMed trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol MNMD and on the
Canadian NEO exchange under the symbol MMED. MindMed is also traded
in Germany under the symbol
MMQ.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release related to the Company
constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of
applicable securities laws and are prospective in nature.
Forward-looking information is not based on historical facts, but
rather on current expectations and projections about future events
and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could
cause actual results to differ materially from the future results
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These
statements generally can be identified by the use of
forward-looking words such as "will", "may", "should", "could",
"intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe",
"potential" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar
variations. Forward-looking information in this news release
includes statements regarding the Company's future strategies and
business plans, the Company's development programs and clinical
trials, and the Company's executive team and consulting
arrangements. Although the Company believes that the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, such
information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance
should not be placed on such information, as unknown or
unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future
results, performance or achievements of the Company. There are
numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from
those expressed in the forward-looking information, including the
Company's history of negative cash flows; limited operating
history; incurrence of future losses; availability of additional
capital; lack of product revenue; compliance with laws and
regulations; difficulty associated with research and development;
risks associated with clinical trials or studies; heightened
regulatory scrutiny; early stage product development; clinical
trial risks; regulatory approval processes; novelty of the
psychedelic inspired medicines industry; as well as those risk
factors discussed or referred to herein and the risks described
under the headings "Risk Factors" in the Company's filings with the
securities regulatory authorities in all provinces and territories
of Canada which are available
under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR
at www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the
forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results and
future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such information. Although the Company has attempted to identify
important risks, uncertainties and factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially, there may be others that cause
results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. These and
all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are
based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are
made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice.
Except as required by law, the Company does not intend and does not
assume any obligation to update this forward-looking
information.
Media Contact: mindmed@150bond.com
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SOURCE Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc.