Key Takeaways; Cannabis Sector

• High Tide Set Sail in Europe by Closing the Acquisition of a Majority Stake in Remexian Pharma
• Simply Solventless Appointed Emily Riehl as VP of Sales, as the Company Expanded National Sales Team

Key Takeaways; Psychedelic Sector

• Bright Minds’ BMB-201 Showed Superior Efficacy in Preclinical Vascular Headache Study
• Compass Pathways’ Psilocybin Therapy Showed Promising Results in PTSD Phase 2 Trial
• PharmAla Expanded to Australia with New Subsidiary and Scientific Advisory Appointment
• Cybin CEO Doug Drysdale Stepped Down, and Co-Founder Eric So was Named Interim CEO
• Silo Pharma Secured Australian Patent for PTSD Drug Candidate SPC-15

Below is a weekly roundup of what happened this week in the cannabis and psychedelic sectors. In this ever-evolving landscape, we explore the major developments and groundbreaking initiatives happening among companies operating in these industries; from advancements in medical research, therapeutic applications to shifts in legal frameworks and current market trends.

Top Marijuana Companies for the Week

#1: High Tide

High Tide Inc. (NASDAQ: HITI) (TSXV: HITI) officially expanded into Europe by completing the acquisition of a 51 percent stake in Remexian Pharma GmbH for an estimated €26.4 million (C$42.4 million). According to the company, the final amount will be confirmed within 30 days once the closing balance sheet is finalized. As part of the deal, High Tide also secured a five-year option to acquire the remaining 49 percent of Remexian, exercisable any time after 24 months.

Commenting on the transaction, Raj Grover, Founder and CEO of High Tide, called the moment “transformational” for the company. “Today marks a transformational moment in High Tide’s journey as we officially plant our flag in Europe. With the closing of this majority acquisition of Remexian, High Tide is no longer just a Canadian success story—we are now a global cannabis company with real scale in Europe’s largest federally regulated market,” he said.

Grover added, “This transaction not only diversifies our revenue base beyond Canada but also creates a clear runway for expansion across Europe’s regulated cannabis markets. With our proven track record of disciplined growth and free cash flow generation, we believe this acquisition positions High Tide for long-term global leadership.”

Founded in 2018 and based just outside Berlin, Remexian is a licensed pharmaceutical company specializing in the importation and wholesale distribution of medical cannabis. The firm operates a European GDP–certified warehouse and currently holds licenses to import cannabis from 19 countries, including Canada, which alone accounts for about one-third of Germany’s medical cannabis imports.

The acquisition comes at a time when demand for medical cannabis in Germany is reaching new highs. According to Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), the country imported 43.3 metric tons of medical cannabis in the second quarter of 2025, which was a record figure and a 15 percent jump from the previous quarter. Over the past twelve months, imports totaled 134 tons, solidifying Germany’s role as the world’s largest importer of medical cannabis. Canada supplied nearly half of these imports, with 36 tons shipped during the first half of 2025 alone.

#2: Simply Solventless

Simply Solventless Concentrates (TSXV: HASH) (OTCPK: SSLCF) strengthened its leadership and sales presence with the appointment of Emily Riehl as Vice President of Sales and the expansion of its national sales force from two to seven representatives across Canada.

According to the company, Riehl, who has more than seven years of experience in the Canadian cannabis sector, brings a proven record of driving sales growth and building strong relationships with retailers, provincial wholesalers, and budtenders. She previously served as National Director of Sales, Key Accounts at Adastra Holdings Ltd., which is a top-performing company in Canada’s concentrates category, and she also held senior roles at Greentone Enterprises Inc.

“Emily’s leadership and expertise is expected to bring significant benefit to SSC in the coming months, and we are proud to have attracted an executive of Emily’s calibre to our team,” said Jeff Swainson, President and CEO of Simply Solventless. He added, “The appointment of Emily Riehl to the position of Vice President, Sales, and the expansion of our sales team across Canada, comes at a key inflection point for SSC as we continue to rapidly scale our business.”

As Vice President, Riehl will lead the new seven-person sales team, covering British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. SSC expects the larger team to accelerate the growth of its brands, including Astrolab, Frootyhooty, Roilty, Status, and Lamplighter, while supporting the national rollout of Sluggers.

To mark her appointment, Riehl was granted 250,000 stock options at an exercise price of $0.35 per share. These options vest in thirds over two years and expire after five years, subject to final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.

Top Psychedelic Companies for Week

#1: Bright Minds

Bright Minds Biosciences Inc. (CSE: DRUG) (NASDAQ: DRUG) reported promising preclinical results for its investigational compound BMB-201, which outperformed sumatriptan in a validated isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) rat model of vascular headache.

The study found that BMB-201 significantly reduced facial mechanical allodynia in both male and female cohorts at one- and two-hours post-dose when compared with a vehicle. Notably, the compound delivered stronger efficacy signals than sumatriptan, the current standard treatment, at multiple timepoints and doses.

For example, male subjects showed an 86% improvement with BMB-201 at one hour versus 81% with sumatriptan, while females achieved up to 100% improvement with BMB-201 compared to 56% for sumatriptan at the same timepoint. Similar trends were observed at two hours post-dose, highlighting the drug’s consistent performance across sexes.

“BMB-201 delivered strong and reproducible activity in a stringent vascular headache model, with efficacy signals that exceeded sumatriptan at multiple timepoints,” said Jan Torleif Pedersen, Chief Science Officer at Bright Minds. “This further validates the use of 5-HT2 agonists in pain management.”

Chief Executive Officer Ian McDonald added, “These data, together with previously reported efficacy across a broad range of pain models, support advancing BMB-201 toward clinical development in headache and migraine-related conditions.”

BMB-201 is a selective 5-HT2A/2C receptor agonist designed to harness the analgesic potential of serotonin modulation while avoiding the hallucinogenic side effects typically linked to 5-HT2A activation. As a prodrug of BMB-A39a, it exhibits minimal activity at the 5-HT2B receptor, reducing the risk of adverse outcomes.

The study was conducted as part of the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative, which is focused on developing non-opioid treatments for pain and addressing the U.S. opioid epidemic.

With these results, Bright Minds is positioning BMB-201 as a potential next-generation treatment for headache and migraine conditions, a space long dominated by triptans.

#2: Compass Pathways

Compass Pathways plc (NASDAQ: CMPS) announced the publication of results from a Phase 2 clinical study evaluating its investigational psilocybin treatment, COMP360, in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings, which are now published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, highlight rapid and durable symptom improvements following a single 25 mg dose.

The open-label study enrolled 22 participants across three sites in the U.K. and U.S. Results showed that COMP360 was well tolerated, with no serious adverse events reported. The most common side effects included headache, nausea, crying, fatigue, and visual hallucinations.

Patients experienced significant clinical benefits. From a baseline CAPS-5 score of 47.5, participants saw an average reduction of nearly 30 points at both week 4 and week 12. Functional improvements were also observed, with Sheehan Disability Scale scores dropping by 11.7 points at week 4 and 14.4 points at week 12.

Notably, response rates, which is defined as a 15-point or greater improvement in CAPS-5, reached 81.8% at week 4 and 77.3% at week 12. Moreover, more than half of participants achieved remission, with CAPS-5 scores of 20 or less, at both timepoints.

“Affecting approximately 13 million people in the U.S., and with only two approved treatments in the past two decades, post-traumatic stress disorder represents an area of profound unmet need with limited innovation to date,” said Dr. Guy Goodwin, Chief Medical Officer at Compass Pathways. “We are proud to see the results from this Phase 2 study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology. Based on the highly encouraging results, we are finalizing late-stage clinical trial designs and look forward to evaluating the full potential of COMP360 for the treatment of PTSD.”

COMP360, which is a proprietary formulation of synthetic psilocybin, is being developed for use alongside psychological support. The treatment has already received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment-resistant depression.

#3: PharmAla

PharmAla Biotech Holdings Inc. (CSE: MDMA) (OTC: MDXXF) announced the launch of PharmAla Biotech Australia Pty Ltd., which is its wholly-owned subsidiary designed to strengthen the company’s research, development, and clinical presence in Australia.

According to PharmAla, the new entity will hold a full and perpetual license to PharmAla’s lead asset, ALA-002, along with all associated patents. This move positions PharmAla Australia to manage both manufacturing development and clinical research initiatives locally.

“As many know, Australia continues to be a thriving market for biotech development,” said Nick Kadysh, PharmAla’s Founding CEO. “We believe that our familiarity with the market – our relationships and our experience – will drive significant synergies.”

PharmAla’s leadership emphasized Australia’s advantages for pharmaceutical innovation, pointing to a strong research ecosystem, favorable regulations, and robust government incentives. “While we see Australia as having a very strong set of experts in clinical research and drug discovery, we are confident it also has an exceptional regulatory environment for launching clinical trials,” added Will Avery, CFO.

Alongside the expansion, PharmAla announced the appointment of Dr. Evan Lewis to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Lewis, a neurologist with expertise in epilepsy and psychedelic neurology, who previously founded the Neurology Centre of Toronto and served as Vice President of Psychedelic Neurology at Numinus Wellness Inc. (OTCQB: NUMIF). His work has focused on neurological disorders, concussion care, and the therapeutic use of cannabis and psychedelics.

PharmAla describes itself as a “regulatory first” biotech company focused on MDXX class molecules, including MDMA. It is currently the only firm supplying clinical-grade MDMA for patient treatments outside of clinical trials, while also advancing novel psychedelic-based therapeutics such as ALA-002.

#4: Cybin

Cybin Inc. (NYSE: CYBN) (Cboe CA: CYBN) announced senior leadership changes on Tuesday, reporting that Chief Executive Officer, Doug Drysdale, had stepped down from his role. Additionally, Cybin stated that the company’s co-founder and president, Eric So, had been appointed interim CEO by the Board of Directors.

Furthermore, the company announced that The Board had also formed a committee to conduct a search for a permanent chief executive, with the goal of moving swiftly to bring on a leader to guide Cybin through the next stage of commercialization.

Reflecting on the transition, So emphasized Cybin’s mission and ongoing momentum. “Cybin was founded with a singular mission: to transform the treatment paradigm for mental health. With a solid foundation of clinical progress, regulatory recognition, and strong partnerships, we remain well-positioned to drive our programs forward,” he said.

So added that his focus will be on stability and execution during the transition. “I am committed to ensuring continuity during this transition and to maintaining our focus on creating long-term value for both patients and shareholders. I want to thank Mr. Drysdale for his contributions. As Interim CEO, I look forward to executing on our strategy, advancing our clinical pipeline to successful approval of CYB003 and CYB004, and working closely with our partners as we move toward delivering innovative new therapies for patients in need.”

Cybin, which was founded in 2019, is a clinical-stage neuropsychiatry company developing next-generation psychedelic-based treatments. Its lead candidate, CYB003, is in Phase 3 trials for major depressive disorder and has received FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation. The company is also advancing CYB004, now in Phase 2 studies for generalized anxiety disorder.

#5: Silo Pharma

Silo Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ: SILO) expanded its global intellectual property portfolio with the granting of a new Australian patent covering its lead drug candidate, SPC-15, an intranasal treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The patent, which was issued by IP Australia and licensed exclusively to Silo from Columbia University, is titled “Prophylactic efficacy of serotonin 4 receptor agonists against stress.” It provides further protection for SPC-15, which was originally developed at Columbia University.

“This patent further strengthens our global IP portfolio for SPC-15, protecting its novel approach to preventing stress-induced disorders and enhancing stress resilience,” said Silo CEO, Eric Weisblum. “The claims further strengthen and support our plans for clinical trial development of SPC-15 as an innovative therapeutic for PTSD.”

SPC-15 is designed as a serotonin 5-HT4 receptor agonist administered intranasally, targeting stress-related psychiatric conditions such as PTSD and anxiety. The treatment may qualify for the FDA’s streamlined 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway, potentially accelerating approval timelines.

Silo, which maintains exclusive global rights to SPC-15’s development and commercialization, is advancing preclinical studies in partnership with Columbia University. Beyond PTSD, the company is pursuing treatments for fibromyalgia, chronic pain, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis through collaborations with leading academic institutions.