On April 26, 2021, Lobe Sciences Ltd. (CSE: LOBE) (OTC Pink: GTSIF) ("Lobe") entered into an agreement with Virtual Psychedelics Incorporated ("VPI") and certain industry-leading pioneers, including Hollywood director Brett Leonard and researcher and USC professor Dr. Skip Rizzo, with respect to the joint design, development and commercialization of a new psychedelic/virtual experience ("VX") pod – the KrysalisTM Pod.
The KrysalisTM Pod will be designed to be powered by a custom tech stack incorporating advanced display technology and state-of-the-art bio-monitoring with the goal of improving psychedelic therapy by optimizing set, setting and the overall experience for clinical and other uses. The KrysalisTM Pod will be designed as a headset-free, virtual experience that uses multi-sensory stimulation to create an application that can offer treatment options for cognitive, psychological, motor and functional impairments across a wide range of clinical health conditions.
The joint venture will be operated under a company to be owned 50% by Lobe and 50% by VPI and called Krysalis VX Corp. ("Krysalis VX"). Lobe and VPI will have equal rights of representation on the board of Krysalis VX, with VPI and its principals contributing its experienced management expertise, while Lobe will contribute US$250,000 in cash as well as issue 5,000,000 common shares of Lobe, at a deemed price per share of CAD$0.20. The Lobe shares will be sold (subject to applicable hold periods and certain agreed restrictions on sale) in order to generate cash to fund Krysalis VX' initial business expenditures. Lobe has also committed to providing US$1,500,000 to Krysalis VX pursuant to a secured line of credit, which will only be drawn when the initial funding contributions are expended and after Krysalis VX has detailed plans to file provisional patents relating to the business.
Lobe is a life sciences company focused on psychedelic medicines. Lobe, through collaborations with industry-leading partners, is engaged in drug research and development using psychedelic compounds and the development of innovative devices and delivery mechanisms to improve mental health and wellness.
Gowling WLG advised Lobe with respect to the negotiation of the joint venture agreement with a team that included Peter Simeon, Jacob Cawker and Aliana Dhanani (corporate/securities) and Anita Yuk (tax).