Beckley Psytech announces £14m raise to conduct clinical trials on psychedelic medicine pipeline
December 30, 2020 MJ Shareholders
Ryan Allway
December 30th, 2020
Psychedelics
Beckley Psytech, a psychedelic medicine company with deep ties to the historical Beckley Foundation, has raised £14m of new equity funding to develop psychedelic drugs into licensed pharmaceutical medicines for treating psychiatric and neurological diseases.
New investors including Noetic Psychedelic Fund LP, a leading venture fund specializing in the psychedelic ecosystem, and Bail Capital, a private equity firm and prominent early investor in the emerging psychedelic industry, are joining existing investors Jim Mellon, the visionary British entrepreneur, and Richard Reed, co-founder of Innocent Drinks, in the round.
This investment, which follows on from the £3m of funding raised by the company in May this year, will help Beckley Psytech scale up its drug development pipeline exploring the use of synthetic 5-MeO-DMT, a unique psychedelic agent with a short duration of action, in the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases. The company is now making preparations to begin its Phase 1 clinical trial – a ground-breaking regulatory standard clinical trial on 5-MeO-DMT.
Beckley Psytech will also use the funding to progress other areas of its comprehensive research programme including the exploration of psychedelic agents with the potential to treat orphan diseases and the discovery of new psychedelic compounds with improved clinical profiles. Utilising its strategic partnership with the Beckley Foundation, a world-leading research institute with a 20+ year track-record of pioneering psychedelic science, the company is developing a pipeline of psychedelic compounds with distinct clinical attributes for mental and neurological diseases which impact millions of people around the world.
The new funding caps off a busy few months for Beckley Psytech, which was co-founded by world-renowned leader in psychedelic research Lady Amanda Feilding and CEO Cosmo Feilding Mellen in 2019. The company recently appointed an array of esteemed psychiatric and psychedelic experts to its Scientific Advisory Board. Respected figures including Dr Robin Carhart-Harris from Imperial College London, Prof Matthew Johnson from John Hopkins University, and Prof Guy Goodwin from the University of Oxford are advising on the company’s drug development activity.
Cosmo Feilding Mellen, co-founder and CEO, Beckley Psytech, says: “Our mission is to help patients in need by developing psychedelic medicines into licensed pharmaceuticals. This fundraise shows that our investors see the transformative potential of psychedelics as a new class of treatment for mental health and will enable us to accelerate our research and development programmes, as we prepare for our first clinical trial involving synthetic 5-MeO-DMT.”
James Bailey, Bail Capital, says: “Beckley is synonymous with psychedelic research. Their founders have been hugely influential in advancing this field of science for over 20 years and I am confident they will have a big impact in shaping the future of this industry, which holds so much promise for millions of people suffering from mental health disorders.”
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About Ryan Allway
Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.
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