EMD's psychedelics treatment shows positive results for treatment resistant depression
Our psychedelic and mental health Investment Emyria (ASX: EMD) just released the first patient data from its depression treatment program.
EMD runs legally authorised "Empax" clinics that deliver psychedelic-assisted therapy - MDMA for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression (TRD).
Today's data covers the earlier stage depression program which is EMD's second major treatment program, this sits alongside its already established PTSD program.
(which EMD has signed payer deals with Medibank and the Department of Veterans' Affairs)
Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) is when a patient hasn't responded adequately to standard treatments which impacts ~600,000 patients across Australia.
(source)
EMD showed today that in a cohort of 10 patients, every patient improved across all four standard mental health measures.
Depression symptoms fell by an average of 6.8 points, from 16.8 down to 10.0, measured on the QIDS-SR16 scale.
This is a questionnaire that gives a score between 0 to 27, where a lower score shows fewer symptoms (so reducing the score signals improvement).
Each patient did a baseline assessment and then a follow up at least three months after finishing treatment, and from the results: “Every change was statistically significant”.
(source)
That small cohort of 10 patients is an early subset of the more than 20 patients now in the program, and the follow up timing varied (ranging from roughly three to 14 months after treatment).
We think that the early data is encouraging enough to see more testing especially with such a clear and direct market for this treatment (should it be proved successful).
More than 2 million Australians experience depression, and around 1 in 3 don't respond to currently available treatments…
This currently leaves around 600,000 people with TRD, so this is a major unmet need that EMD is aiming to be able to meet:
(source)
We think that IF EMD can show its treatments work against a mental health condition like this then it could be rolled out across its existing network of clinics - offering a second revenue stream for the business.
EMD is currently delivering both its PTSD and TRD programs across four operational Empax clinics, with its fifth clinic to open in NSW in Q3 2026, so will soon span Australia's four largest states.
(source)
We covered an update on this NSW clinic's progress toward opening from the news on Monday, where EMD confirmed that it had completed the staff training ahead of the Q3 opening.
EMD’s Chief Scientific Officer Dr Michael Winlo is presenting these findings today at the 2026 International Mental Health Conference on the Gold Coast.
What we want to see next from EMD
EMD execute its national rollout in Australia
We want to see EMD open more clinics around Australia.
Here are the milestones we are tracking:
- ✅ WA, QLD and VIC clinics - operational
- ✅ NSW recruitment completed
- 🔲 NSW clinic opened
🔲 Revenue growth from existing clinics
With clinics now running in three states and NSW on the way, we want to see patient throughput and revenue building.
🔲 New payer deals
EMD has both Medibank Private (~$12BN market cap) and DVA (government program) as current “payers” for its treatment protocol.
A big win for EMD would be to get new payers into its network.
We note EMD is already working with Workcover Australia (including the Australian Federal Police's cohort, one of the highest PTSD-burden groups in the country).
The BIG new one would ofcourse be out of the US.
Especially after the recent Trump Executive Order: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump is Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness The White House April 18, 2026
(source)
This is the catalyst we were previously only hoping for - now we think it's a "when" more than an "if."
Here are some articles since the news broke:
- Forbes, April 19 - What Trump’s Psychedelics Executive Order Means For Veterans With PTSD
- Fierce Biotech, April 20 - Trump orders FDA to fast-track reviews of psychedelic drugs after lobbying by podcaster
- Reuters, April 22 - Psychedelic therapies cited by Trump: What you need to know
- Reuters, April 24 - US FDA moves to fast-track psychedelic drugs after Trump order
- CNBC, May 31- Why Trump reversed course to fast-track psychedelic drugs for mental healthcare
🔲 Expansion into new indications
We also want to see EMD expand its therapy programs to new indications and drug therapies over time to broaden its addressable market beyond PTSD and treatment-resistant depression.
Here is the image we shared in a recent note which helps visualise the impact this would have on EMD’s business:
(source)
What we want to see over the coming months is that more of those circles move from the “scoping” stage into the “active” stage, this is where EMD gets the revenue…
