Psychedelic research company MindMed pledged $5 million to NYU Langone Health for developing a psychedelic research center, the first of its kind in New York. The move comes amid a resurgence of research and investment in psychedelic therapies that has been called a renaissance.
Psychedelics have not been considered mainstream in psychology, "and we believe that's part of the biggest challenge around psychedelics," said J.R. Rahn, co-founder and co-CEO of MindMed, "Not necessarily proving the safety and efficacy of these substances, but destigmatizing them to both the psychiatric community and the patients that really need them."
MindMed is a psychedelic health company focused on researching drugs like 18-MC, a legal derivative of psychedelic drug ibogaine, and LSD for application on conditions like treatment-resistant depression and addiction. The company's investment will first go toward training psychiatrists and clinical investigators at NYU Langone Health to work with psychedelic-assisted therapies, with the eventual goal of establishing a psychedelic research center, like the one founded in 2019 at Johns Hopkins. Both universities are among those leading the charge of psychedelic research in recent years.
"NYU has really been advancing psychedelic medicine, the research of these substances as medicines," Rhan said. "This was always something that was on the fringes."
MindMed, which went public on the NEO Exchange in March, is one of a crop of high-profile psychedelic medicine companies making a name for itself among Wall Street investors. Another of these companies, Compass Pathways, received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the Food and Drug Administration for using psilocybin on treatment-resistant depression. Famously backed by PayPal founder Peter Thiel, Compass went public on the Nasdaq in September.
Compass' successful IPO prompted MindMed to apply to uplist to Nasdaq earlier this month.
"NEO has been a very, very supportive exchange. I think they really took a chance on this space. They were the first exchange to do that. But what I think Nasdaq allows us is we want to start accessing more institutional capital," Rahn said. "I think a lot of Wall Street investors are saying, 'I better have this as part of my portfolio.'"
Rahn said the need for alternative mental health treatment has perhaps never been so urgent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mental health issues have worsened in response to the coronavirus pandemic and its mitigation efforts. Some 40 percent of Americans, surveyed at the end of June reported battling some form of adverse mental health or substance abuse issue.
For entrepreneurs like Rahn, this tragedy poses an opportunity.
"I think any renaissance happens because there's a prior problem and right now, what we're seeing is really an apocalypse of mental health and addiction [problems]. Mental health and addiction are America's unfortunate, next great growth story," Rahn said.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
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Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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