Biotechnology company Awakn Life Sciences has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Devon Partnership NHS Trust and the University of Exeter to establish an evidence framework for the use of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy as an alternative treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder and treatment-resistant depression within the NHS.
Through the partnership, the groups will work together to establish a framework and strategic relationship to assess how ready the NHS is to deploy ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. As part of the agreement, the partnership will also examine how best to accelerate the on-label use of ketamine-assisted psychotherapy to treat AUD at scale.
A key part of the MOU is to progress Awakn’s phase II a/b KARE (Ketamine for reduction of Alcohol Relapse) study forward into a pivotal phase III trial. Results from that study are expected to be published in the American Journal of Psychiatry later this year. Awakn hopes that the Ketamine developed in this trial will show to be more effective at treating alcohol use disorder than any other currently available treatments.
Through the MOU, Awakn and its partners will assess how best to bring this research forward into a planned three-armed, phase III pivotal trial in the UK. With one arm of the trial being designed to test the relative efficacy of digital/remote delivery of therapy.
“The signing of the MOU is an important milestone as mental health issues continue to exacerbate globally. As we push towards our goal of delivering this novel treatment to patients across the UK, Europe and the world, we are excited to lay the groundwork with DPT and UoE to increase access for psychedelics to treat addiction and more,” said Anthony Tennyson, Awakn’s CEO.
“By collaborating, Awakn can further accelerate the development and delivery of psychedelic therapeutics for those in need of alternative treatments from the current standard of care. We are making strides towards ketamine-assisted therapies being adopted into mainstream clinical use.”
“We’re really excited about this opportunity to work with Awakn Life Sciences and the University of Exeter. As a research active Mental Health NHS Trust this is a positive step forward to improving treatment options for people with addictions, and for those with treatment resistant depression,” said Tobit Emmens, associate director of Research & Development at Devon Partnership NHS Trust.
To find out more about what Awakn Life Sciences is doing with psychedelic therapies, listen to our interview with the company's chief research officer, professor David Nutt below.