Google co-founder Sergey Brin is bankrolling the development of a hallucinogen derived from a rainforest shrub for use as a mental health treatment, marking the latest Silicon Valley deal in the nascent psychedelics sector. Catalyst4, a non-profit investment vehicle set up using the proceeds of Brin’s 2021 sale of his Tesla stake, has committed to cover around $15mn of a $25mn funding round for psychedelic start-up Soneira, according to several people briefed on the discussions. The biotech is launching clinical trials looking at ibogaine, a shrub native to west Africa, as a treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI), they said. Ibogaine has historically been used as part of spiritual rituals by forest-dwelling tribes in Gabon due to its mind-altering effects, and has recently gained traction among western psychedelic advocates and mental health researchers. Earlier this year, a Stanford University project funded by Brin’s charitable foundation found that ibogaine therapy improved mental health symptoms and cognitive function in 30 US military veterans with TBI. Soneira — which is being advised by Stanford psychiatrist Nolan Williams who worked on the study — is researching how ibogaine can be combined with heart medications to mitigate the risk of fatal cardiac arrhythmia associated with the plant. It is also working on developing a synthetic version of the compound, the people said. Soneira plans to launch early stage clinical trials using the funding. The interest from Brin’s vehicle, which was established in 2021, is the latest example of Silicon Valley’s enthusiasm for psychedelics — for personal use and as an investment. Catalyst4 was set up with cash from the $366mn windfall from Brin’s sale of his entire Tesla stake. Tesla founder Elon Musk has spoken publicly about his use of ketamine to treat depression, and billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel was one of the early backers of Atai Life Sciences, a biotech researching psychedelic-based mental health treatments that is also studying ibogaine to treat opioid-use disorder. So far this year, nearly $180mn has been invested by venture capitalists in psychedelic biotechs, according to PitchBook data. Investment in the sector hit a record high in 2021, with $528mn raised.
source:https://www.ft.com/content/5ed7daee-3d03-45d1-876b-52d81f0e2b68
