Delix to synthesize psychedelic drugs

Abstract

Delix Therapeutics has raised $70 million in series A financing to develop therapies inspired by psychedelics to treat neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. The Boston-based start-up joins a list of more than a dozen drug companies developing psychedelic-based therapies for mental illnesses . CEO Mark Rus says Delix is part of a “psychedelic renaissance,” in which doctors, scientists, and biotech investors are hoping to repurpose recreational drugs into mainstream medicine. The magic mushroom–derived compound psilocybin, for instance, is emerging as a promising experimental therapy for major depressive disorder. But many clinical trials of psychedelics require trained psychotherapists to help guide patients through their drug-induced hallucinations. “We need new approaches,” Rus says. Delix aims to create psychedelic-inspired compounds that heal without hallucinations. The idea comes from David E. Olson, a neuroscientist and medicinal chemist at the University of California, Davis. In 2018, his lab published a study in animals showing that multiple