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☆ Only a handful of psychedelics companies have gotten funding from established biotech investors. Here's what they've done right, according to a top VC.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

RA Capital is one of the few mainstream biotech VCs wading into the psychedelics space. The number of companies touting the benefits of psychedelics for healthcare is rapidly growing, but not all biotech investors are on board yet. Last year RA Capital made two investments into the psychedelics spaceIn 2021, RA made its first investments into the psychedelics space by funding two startups: GH Research and Delix Therapeutics. Dublin, Ireland-based GH Research is one of the only psychedelics companies to have garnered a flurry of interest from mainstream healthcare investors including RA Capital, RTW Investments, and BVF Partners. Lusaris' treatment is designed to be taken sublingually — placed under the tongue — for treatment-resistant depression.

☆ Colorado's Proposition 122: Voters say yes to decriminalization of psychedelics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Coloradans voted "yes" on Proposition 122, also known as the Natural Medicine Health Act of 2022, which classified some psychedelics as natural medicine and decriminalized the transport, growth, and use of said medicines. 2022 General EmbedsBallot measure detailsThe state of Colorado was the first state in the country to legalize marijuana for personal use. Psilocybin and psilocin immediately became categorized as natural medicine following the proposition's passage. The state also created a regulated natural medicine access program, in which a natural medicine advisory board oversees the distribution of natural medicines through licensed healing centers. Support and oppositionNatural Medicine Colorado led the campaign in support of Proposition 122.

☆ Colorado just legalized ‘magic mushrooms,’ an idea that’s growing nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Danica Jefferies | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

DENVER, CO - MAY 19: "u201cFun guy"u201d with harvested Mazatec psilocybin mushrooms from their growing tubs May 19, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. Bills that would decriminalize possession have been introduced in 19 states — including Missouri, Iowa and Kansas — though none have been enacted. And more than a dozen states — including Florida, Oklahoma and Texas — have introduced legislation to further study the health benefits of psilocybin. Some opponents of the Colorado measure say it would promote using these substances before the FDA says they are safe. "I'm hoping the rest of the country can learn the hard lessons from my state's foray," said Luke Niforatos, who leads two national organizations that opposed the drug legalization measure.

☆ Compass Pathways' new CEO says data from his firm's upcoming clinical trial could finally persuade Big Pharma to jump into the psychedelics industry
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Compass Pathways is set to start its biggest clinical trial yet by the end of this year. But that may soon change as more data around the effectiveness of psychedelics as treatments emerges, according to Kabir Nath, the new CEO of the psychedelics company Compass Pathways. He joined Compass Pathways from the Japanese pharmaceutical company Otsuka in August and led Otsuka's investment into Compass Pathways during the company's $80 million Series B round in 2019. At the time of Otsuka's initial investment into Compass Pathways, the psychedelics industry was relatively new and the potential around such treatments was still not well known. In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration approved a ketamine-based treatment called Spravato for treatment-resistant depression that was developed by Johnson & Johnson's Janssen.

☆ Live Results: Colorado votes in congressional and state elections
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Walt Hickey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Explore more race results below. Polls close in the state at 7 p.m. local time, or 9 p.m. EST. It symobilizes the 2022 Election. CO-08 HouseColorado's seven congressional seats are in contention, with two of them — the 7th and the new 8th Congressional District — seen as particularly exciting. Sen. Michael Bennet is also up for reelection in a race that's seen as tighter than Democrats would like, and Gov.

☆ The National Park Service warns visitors not to lick Sonoran Desert toads, whose psychoactive poison has been smoked by celebrities like Joe Rogan and Chelsea Handler
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The National Park Service told visitors not to lick toads or anything else they find in the parks. The Sonoran Desert toad, also known as the Colorado River toad, can grow to nearly 7 inches and is one of the largest toads in North America. The practice is dangerous and can make humans and animals sick, as the Sonoran Desert toads release toxins through glands in their skin as a powerful defense mechanism. The relevant psychoactive substance, 5-MeO-DMT, is illegal in the US and designated a Schedule 1 substance, but that hasn't stopped it from accruing fans. Some are concerned that the growing embrace of psychedelics and 5-MeO-DMT could threaten the existence of the Sonoran Desert toad due to illegal poaching and overharvesting, the Times reported.

☆ Colorado's Proposition 122: a measure that could decriminalize psychedelics
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Proposition 122 would decriminalize and regulate certain psychedelic drugs. Ballot measure detailsThe state of Colorado was the first state in the country to legalize marijuana for personal use. Psilocybin and psilocin would immediately be categorized as natural medicine once the law goes into effect, whereas other drugs would be decriminalized after June 2026. The state would create a regulated natural medicine access program, overseen by a natural medicine advisory board, that would oversee the distribution of natural medicines through licensed healing centers. Support and oppositionNatural Medicine Colorado is leading the campaign in support of Proposition 122.

The research will look at whether the drug can effectively treat depression when other therapies have failed. COMPASS Pathways, a United Kingdom-based pharmaceutical company that focuses on psilocybin research, is conducting the study. Most psychedelics, including psilocybin, are illegal at the federal level in the U.S. No one knows for sure how it might work to treat depression. Nayak was also not involved with the COMPASS study, but does conduct research on psilocybin for other mental health conditions. A re-enactment of a COMPASS Pathways psilocybin therapy session.

It’s the first time in 50 years that a federal grant has been given to study a psychedelic drug as a possible treatment. The study, a randomized controlled trial expected to start later this year, will investigate whether psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in “magic mushrooms,” can help people quit smoking tobacco. Hopkins researchers will lead the trial, which will be done in collaboration with researchers at NYU Langone Health and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In a study published in August, researchers found that psilocybin helped drinkers reduce alcohol cravings. Typically in studies using psychedelics, participants receive the drug during a monitored session with a therapist, which can last hours.

☆ Elon Musk reportedly goes on 'exploratory journeys' and likes to show friends a chart of the benefits of MDMA and mushrooms over alcohol
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Grace Kay | Allana Akhtar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk likes to discuss the benefits of MDMA and mushrooms with friends, The New York Times reported. The billionaire likes to share a chart that shows MDMA and psychedelic mushrooms are healthier than alcohol use, one person who Musk shared the chart with on vacation told the publication. For the past 20 years, Musk has attended nearly every Burning Man festival — often accompanied by his younger brother, Kimbal Musk, the Times reported. Researchers have not compared health benefits from alcohol and psychedelic mushrooms head-to-head. Apple founder Steve Jobs previously touted the practice of microdosing on psychedelic drugs, such as LSD or psilocybin mushrooms in order to promote creativity.

☆ Walmart's secretive fintech ONE is the new disruptor in consumer banking, and the retailer has nabbed talent from Wall Street mainstays like Goldman Sachs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Aaron Weinman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In January last year, the retailer said it was pursuing a partnership with venture-capital firm Ribbit Capital, which backed Robinhood. The next month, Walmart lured Omer Ismail and David Stark, two executives from Goldman Sachs' Marcus, over to work on a fintech initiative. Insider's Ann Gehan, Carter Johnson, and Ben Tobin have identified the key people shaping this effort at its fintech called ONE. Done deals :Acrisure, a fintech company that operates an insurance broker and real-estate services company, has acquired B2Z Insurance. Aditxt, a biotech company developing tech around monitoring the immune system, raised $20 million after selling 3.33 million shares on Nasdaq.

☆ How a 34-year-old investor moved from Wall Street to psychedelics and raised $10.5 million for a new depression treatment
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Freedom Biosciences is a new startup focused on a ketamine treatment for depression. In 2021, Burkitbayeva founded a psychedelics company, Freedom Biosciences, with Dr. John Krystal, the chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University. Freedom Biosciences, which focuses on ketamine and psychedelics as treatments for depression and other mental illnesses, announced on Tuesday that it had raised a $10.5 million seed round from investors. Burkitbayeva spoke with Insider about how she moved from Wall Street to psychedelics and went from angel investor to company CEO. Burkitbayeva used her background as an investor to help Freedom Biosciences raise its seed roundWith her background as both an investor and a founder, Burkitbayeva spearheaded the fundraising efforts for Freedom Biosciences.

Bogenschutz and his team specifically set out to test whether or not psilocybin, in addition to sessions of therapy, could cut cravings and help people with alcohol use disorder stay sober. Earlier research from institutions around the world has indicated that psilocybin has the potential to treat a variety of addiction disorders, including alcohol use disorder, opioid use disorder and addiction to smoking. Jon KostasWhen he began the psilocybin trial at age 25, he was consuming almost 23 drinks in a single bender. At the beginning of the first dose sessions, participants were given eye masks and headphones that played classical music. Bogenschutz said the rule of thumb with alcohol addiction treatment is that about one-third of patients who seek treatment will get better.

☆ Elon Musk said he and the 'whole of SpaceX' had to be drug tested for a year after he smoked weed on Joe Rogan's podcast
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-05 | by ( Grace Dean | Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said he had to take drug tests for a year after smoking weed on Joe Rogan's podcast in 2018. "I don't even know how to smoke a joint," the tech billionaire told the "Full Send" podcast Thursday. "I had to have like random drug tests and stuff after that, to prove that I'm not like a drug addict," Musk said, adding that the tests were required by the federal government. I had like a whole year of random drug tests." "Unfortunately, it wasn't just me but the whole company, the whole of SpaceX had to have random drug tests," Musk continued.

☆ What to know about the booming psychedelics industry, where companies are racing to turn magic mushrooms and MDMA into approved medicines
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-30 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

In the early days of the industry, nonprofits and scrappy startups made up the psychedelics space. Research on compounds like psilocybin, the active compound found in magic mushrooms, and MDMA is resurfacing after years of neglect amid the war on drugs. Soon, VC firms focused on psychedelics companies began to emerge. Some psychedelics VCs, however, are still wary about entering the newest psychedelics space: Oregon's soon-to-be-legal magic mushroom market. Insider published a list of the psychedelics startups that raised the most cash in 2020.

☆ The Ayahuasca Diaries
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-26 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +37 min

But please understand: I didn't drink ayahuasca so I could write an article about it. I wrote an article about it so I could drink ayahuasca. I was desperate to drink ayahuasca — I had been for several months, in fact — and the formality of an assignment would help me out at home. Instead, a friend of a friend linked me up with an ayahuasca sangha, a Buddhist word for a spiritual community. I thought of my old friend, Scott, who, many years before, had declined an opportunity to drink ayahuasca.

☆ A top cannabis and psychedelics investor predicts an 'existential crisis' ahead for startups and shares 2 key pieces of advice for founders
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-10 | by ( Jeremy Berke | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It's an era of belt-tightening for cannabis startups, investors say. Some cannabis-tech startups had a growth-at-all-costs mindset, and that's beginning to hurt them. Bonaventure invests in early-stage cannabis and psychedelics startups focused on biotech and life sciences, rather than cannabis brands or cannabis tech. Bonaventure Equity"We're already seeing a rapid tightening of capital," O'Brien said, which he said was driving down valuations. Some cannabis-tech startups are feeling the painThat dynamic may already be at play for once high-flying cannabis tech startups like Eaze and Dutchie.

Hundreds of clinical trials are testing psychedelic drugs like LSD and MDMA as medical treatments. Insider is tracking the key experiments that will show whether or not psychedelics actually work. Our psychedelics clinical trial tracker is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. To find out whether psychedelics can really work as treatments for PTSD, depression, and other ailments, researchers are testing them in clinical trials. Click here to see our interactive tracker monitoring these clinical trials.

About 100 experiments are in progress worldwide, examining psychedelics' potential as medicines. Insider identified 19 key trials that could make or break the psychedelics industry's future. About 100 clinical trials are underway worldwide, examining the potential of psychedelics as treatments for health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, severe depression, and anorexia. Phase III trials test the compounds in larger numbers of people with the condition. Companies use information from their Phase II studies to design Phase III trials and persuade the regulator to OK the design.

☆ Top psychedelics VCs share the key challenges that are keeping them on the sidelines of the first legal magic-mushroom market in the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-23 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

While some companies are laying the groundwork to enter the market, leaders at four venture-capital firms focused on psychedelics told Insider they're skeptical about investing in the state. Palo SantoOne of Palo Santo's portfolio companies, Fluence, is preparing for the Oregon market. Two big reasons that psychedelics clinics could struggle to make money in OregonSchlidt laid out two reasons he thinks that psychedelics clinics in Oregon will struggle to be profitable. Plus, psilocybin clinics would face higher taxes. Burkitbayeva said that the companies she's seeing enter the Oregon market don't seem to have those attributes.

☆ An obscure law could jeopardize profits for startups racing to get in on the first legal magic-mushroom market in the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-20 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A tax rule will make it difficult for psychedelics companies to generate profits in Oregon. Because cannabis and psilocybin are federally illegal, 280E affects businesses even in areas where the substances are locally legal. According to Harris Bricken, an international law firm, psilocybin businesses in Oregon could face challenges like those that cannabis companies faced. "There's still a pretty big cloud around how to successfully manage a 280E tax liability," he said. Getty ImagesIt's still unclear which companies in Oregon 280E would directly affect.

☆ Psychedelics upstart Field Trip just made a clever move to gain access to the first legal psilocybin market in the US
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-03 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new company focused on clinics will list on a Canadian stock exchange, instead of the Nasdaq. The move makes it possible for the company to enter Oregon's psilocybin market. Psychedelics upstart Field Trip Health plans to split itself into two separate public companies. But perhaps more importantly, it gives the firm a way to enter Oregon's psilocybin program, which is set to be the first state-sanctioned psilocybin market in the US. Because offering psilocybin isn't legal on the federal level in the US, the company couldn't participate in Oregon's market and remain listed on the Nasdaq.

☆ Cannabis adtech startup Fyllo is making its third acquisition to branch into crypto and e-sports
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-12 | by ( Tanya Dua | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Data compliance software startup Fyllo has acquired audience targeting company Semasio. Semasio will enable Fyllo to expand internationally and into regulated industries beyond cannabis. The acquisition comes just months after Fyllo closed its $40 million Series C round in late 2021. Semasio also helps Fyllo expand its international footprint and scope. Its cookieless audience targeting software helps marketers understand and reach their audiences across 30 languages and 50 countries, said Kasper Skou, Semasio's cofounder and CEO.

☆ An unusual startup is looking to raise $20 million to turn coca leaves into the next trendy wellness ingredient
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-06 | by ( Jeremy Berke | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The coca leaves will be used to produce an energizing extract for food and beverage products. Coca leaves, minus the cocaine, could become the next hot wellness trend. Power Leaves is targeting a direct listing on the NasdaqPower Leaves raised a $5.4 million seed round in January, valuing the startup at just under $20 million, McCutcheon said in an interview. Power Leaves Corp. Power Leaves has a 15-year agreement with the Resguardo community to source coca leaves, the investor deck said.

☆ Johns Hopkins, Yale, and NYU are teaming up to tackle a key bottleneck that will arise as psychedelics come to market
▼ + stars: | 2022-03-10 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, and New York University announced on Thursday they were collaborating to create a psychedelics curriculum for psychiatrists. Benjamin Kelmendi is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale University and a codirector of the Yale Program for Psychedelic Science. YaleNYU's Ross told Insider it was "daunting" to think about the sheer number of therapists that needed to be trained to expand access for patients. Researchers are working to fill the gap that exists between psychedelics and the medical systemChristopher Pittenger is a codirector at the Yale Program for Psychedelic Science. YaleDr. Benjamin Kelmendi, a codirector of the Yale Program for Psychedelic Science, told Insider that he saw psychedelics as having broad applications that will attract other branches of medicine.

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