Psilera Bioscience

Based in Florida, Psilera Bioscience is a psychedelic research and development (R&D) company developing novel therapeutics using natural sources and psychoactive compounds such as N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), psilocin, and synthetic DMT derivatives. The therapeutics aim to treat conditions including neurodegenerative diseases, substance abuse, addiction, and mood disorders. 

Psilera’s key focus areas include the design and synthesis of natural compounds, innovative drug delivery systems, computational models, and collaborations to advance pre-clinical and clinical development of therapeutics. The company also integrates modern technology with patient-derived insights to improve the identification and development of therapeutics.

Psilera entered into the University of South Florida (USF) incubator in July 2020, leveraging the university’s resources to receive approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to conduct research on psychedelics such as DMT, psilocybin, and psilocin. The company is also in the final stages of finalizing partnerships with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison for clinical and pre-clinical research. 

The company is expecting to conduct Phase 1b clinical trials on the company’s patent-pending transdermal delivery of DMT, during the latter half of 2021. It is also hoping to submit an investigational new drug (IND) for the same purpose. Founded in 2019, the company raised USD 2.5 million in an oversubscribed seed round in July 2021 to bolster the scientific and clinical team to expand its drug pipeline with plans to begin preclinical animal testing of its new chemical entities in Q3 2021.