2024 is set to be a watershed year for psychedelics following several transformative milestones for the industry and a surge in biotech investment. These developments in psychedelics are fuelling interest across Europe, creating an evolving landscape of companies working in the space.
Europe is facing a mental health pandemic, with one in nine people living with a mental disorder in 2018. With little to no innovation in mental health care for decades, increasing research into psychedelics is now showing the compounds as potentially promising new therapies to tackle this crisis.
Europe has recently begun to embrace this research, with the European Medicines Agency planning stakeholder meetings to discuss guidance on psychedelic regulations in 2024, and the European Union funding psychedelic studies for the first time.
The developments in psychedelic research in recent years have not only spurred conversations over regulations but have also birthed several European startups that are now focusing on psychedelics – otherwise known as ‘psychoplastogens’ – for conditions such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, addiction and more.
Psychedelic companies in Europe
MIND Foundation
The MIND Foundation based supports psychedelic research by acting as a study partner, working with policymakers and providing professional training.
The organisation is currently carrying out the first psychedelic study funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The EPIsoDE Study, taking place at the Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) and Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, is investigating the use of psilocybin as a treatment for patients with treatment-resistant depression.
OVID Clinics
OVID Clinics is a psychedelic therapy company based out of Berlin, providing ketamine therapy and tailored treatment plans.
In 2022, OVID partnered with Enosis and the MIND Foundation to launch the world’s first in-clinic pilot offering of psychedelic-augmented psychotherapy that will leverage Virtual Reality (VR) technology.
Norrsken Mind
Based in Sweden, the non-profit Norrsken Mind supports psychedelic research for mental health conditions.
The company is supporting several psychedelic studies including:
- Supporting researchers at the Karolinska Institutet to investigate the cognitive and neurobiological changes associated with psilocybin-assisted therapy.
- Providing partial funding to a study at Umeå University to investigate MDMA-assisted psychotherapy as a treatment for depression in 18 to 25-year-olds.
- Funded the first Swedish clinical trial using a psilocybin-assisted therapy protocol.
Reconnect Labs
A spin-off of the University of Zürich, Reconnect Labs is working to develop innovative therapies for conditions such as anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction, and neurodegenerative diseases.
The company is developing next-gen psychedelics that have improved safety, tolerance and efficacy with the aim of transforming the care landscape for several conditions including sleep, anxiety and substance use disorders.
Revixia Life Sciences
Revixia Life Sciences is a subsidiary of atai Life Sciences – a company backed by inventors such as Christian Angermayer and Peter Thiel.
Revixia is developing Salvinorin A (SalA) to treat a variety of mental health disorders including treatment-resistant depression and, according to the company, the product will be paired with a digital therapeutic being developed by atai’s company Introspect Digital Therapeutics.
Neo Kuma Ventures
Neo Kuma Ventures is a venture fund aiming to support breakthroughs in psychedelic healthcare.
Providing funding of £150,000 to £1 million on average, the company has a large portfolio of some of the world’s leading psychedelic companies including Beckley Psytech, atai Life Sciences, Small Pharma and Awakn Life Sciences, among others.
It has also partnered with world-leading reform organisations to help shape global psychedelic regulations including Drug Science, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and the OPEN Foundation.
Vine Ventures
Vine Ventures is another European venture fund aiming to help advance the development of psychedelic therapies – donating 50% of its profits back to the psychedelic community. The company’s psychedelic portfolio includes BrightMinds, Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, Psygen, Bexon Biomedical, Tripp and Inward Breathwork.
This year, Vine participated in Lykos Therapeutics $100M Series A funding round alongside investors such as the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation, Eir Therapeutics, True Ventures, Bail Capital, and Satori Neu, among others.
GH Research
Ireland-based GH Research is developing a pipeline of novel 5-MeO-DMT product candidates for the treatment of mental health and neurological disorders.
The company recently announced that its Phase 2b clinical trial of its selected 5-MeO-DMT product candidate, GH001, in patients with treatment-resistant depression and its Phase 2a clinical trial of GH001 in postpartum depression are on track for expected completion in Q3 2024.
April19 Discovery Inc.
Utilising Artificial Intelligence, April19 is working to develop the next generation of psychedelic-inspired compounds.
The company intends to expand the utility of psychedelics beyond mental health into neurodegenerative indications such as dementia. Through its AI optimisation, April19 is working to improve the neurorestorative and neuroprotective effects of psychedelics while reducing tolerance buildup and cardiotoxicity to allow for safe and effective daily dosing for elderly patients.
HiveBio
HiveBio is the first in Europe to provide medically licensed ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in a retreat setting. Hive’s “3-1-3” programme provides participants with three weeks of preparation online, one week at HIVE BIO Malta and three weeks of integration online.
The company currently provides psychedelic programmes in Malta, with further programmes set to open in Portugal and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
