With the boom in psychedelic therapeutics, companies all over the world are racing to implement clinical trials with hopes of expanding the industry. In a recent press release, the company Delix Therapeutics may be in the lead, gaining $70 million in funding during their first round of financing.
The company, specializing in neuroscience, is in the preclinical stage of development. The recent funding from OMX and ARTIS ventures, as well as RA Capital Management and many other psychedelic and biological investment funds, will be used to advance Delix Therapeutics’ clinical trials. This will include expanding their team and furthering their research into psychoplastogens, therapeutic compounds that promote neuroplasticity.
“We appreciate the overwhelming support from new and early investors alike, and continue to attract top neuroscience, chemistry, and biotech talent as we pursue a unique pathway toward treating – and potentially healing – neuropsychiatric conditions in a new way, at scale,” said Mark Rus, Delix Therapeutics CEO. “We’ve made tremendous progress towards developing efficacious and easily manufactured compounds that have the potential to deliver safe, fast-acting, FDA-approved treatments to help patients in need.”
So far, Delix’s powerful and unique research platform has generated almost 1,000 new compounds, with many prospects selected for clinical development. Non-hallucinogenic isomers of the clinically proven early psychedelics including LSD, DMT, MDMA, and psilocybin are among Delix’s most advanced compounds, which have been featured in Nature and Cell. The oral supplements created by Delix help the brain retain long-term neuronal rewiring without the safety concerns, risks, or other obstacles to patient access that come with previous psychedelics.
Delix’s psychoplastogens are easily customizable and suited for early usage in patients because to their enhanced safety background, non-hallucinatory effectiveness, and simpler production method. The first two Delix research candidates, DLX-1 and DLX-7, are now conducting pre-IND safety and toxicity investigations in order to commence clinical trials in 2022.
“Delix is at the forefront of neuroscience with a growing platform of novel compounds, a great team, and a novel approach. Delix has the potential to advance our understanding of neuroplasticity, a core component of psychedelics, and its ability to heal. Through its platform, we see a significant opportunity for Delix to develop next-generation therapies, with strong IP protection and the potential to positively impact a range of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative conditions,” said Vasudev Bailey, who is the senior partner of ARTIS Ventures and a Delix board member.
“The healthcare system is in serious need of new and improved neuropsychiatric treatments that are scalable and more accessible than first- or second-generation psychedelics. We have been looking for an optimized scientific approach to achieve this, and believe that Delix’s team, therapeutic strategy, and early lead candidates are on the critical path,” said Andrew Levin, Managing Director at RA Capital Management.
“This funding is an important step in transforming our years of scientific research and discoveries into innovative treatments for patients in need,” said Professor David E. Olson, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Delix Therapeutics. “Our preclinical data to date suggest that our compounds are unlike anything currently in psychiatrists’ arsenals and have the potential to treat a wide range of conditions. Because the Delix platform directly reverses cortical atrophy — the root cause of many brain disorders — we are optimistic that our treasure trove of novel compounds will yield many safe and scalable treatments for improving mental health.”These findings have been widely published in Cell, Nature, Molecular Psychiatry, Cell Reports, and other leading peer-reviewed scientific publications.
Comments