- Journey Colab has raised $12M in equity to fund the development of synthetically-derived psychedelic products
- These products are aimed at treating alcohol addiction, among other mental health disorders.
Journey Colab Corp., a privately-held psychedelic pharmaceutical startup initially funded by Sam Altman and Apollo Projects, has raised $12M in new equity funding to develop synthetically-derived and patent-protected psychedelic products to treat addiction and other mental health disorders.
Series A investors include MBX Capital, a leading healthcare and biotechnology venture fund; Delphi VC; Uprising; Lionheart Ventures; Sam Altman and Apollo Projects; and Drew Houston (co-founder and CEO of Dropbox).
“We’re in the early innings of psychedelic medicine and believe Journey is best positioned to bring promising therapies to those suffering from addiction. MBX is thrilled to be partnering with Journey’s team, and to support their commitment to improving the lives of the communities their medicines will serve.”
Zeshan Muhammedi of MBX Capital.
The funding will be used to accelerate the development of Journey Colab’s portfolio of psychedelic compounds. Journey Colab’s lead compound, Mescaline HCl (JOUR-001), is being developed for the treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), a condition with limited treatment options and significant unmet need. Journey Colab plans to initiate its Phase 1 study of JOUR-001 for AUD in 2022. Mescaline is a classic 5-HT2a psychedelic used for millennia by Indigenous cultures that shows particular promise for treating AUD. Journey Colab’s seasoned drug development team, headed by former executives of Allergan, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, and other major pharmaceutical companies, is overseeing the development of Journey Colab’s pipeline of psychedelic treatments for addiction and mental health conditions that affect millions of people across the globe.
Journey Colab’s scientific advisory board includes leading psychedelic researchers Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris of the University of California, San Francisco and founder of the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College, London; Dr. Brian Anderson, Psychiatrist and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco; Dr. Michael Bogenschutz, Professor of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, and Director of the newly established NYU Langone Center for Psychedelic Medicine; and Dr. Peter Hendricks, Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Health Behavior of the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“There is an unprecedented need for effective treatments of AUD—not only for the patients but also for their families and communities. With experienced capital and a seasoned team, Journey Colab is well-positioned to translate these traditionally-used medicines into clinical settings that are accessible to all,”
Journey CEO Jeeshan Chowdhury.
About Journey Colab
Journey Colab was founded in 2020 and is a mission-driven for-profit psychedelic pharmaceutical startup developing psychedelic treatments for addiction located in the Bay Area. Ten percent of the company’s founding equity was dedicated to the Journey Reciprocity Trust, an irrevocable trust designed to share the value generated by the company’s success with Indigenous communities that have traditionally used psychedelics as well as other community stakeholders, including those working to ensure equitable access to mental health treatment and those working on the conservation of naturally occurring psychedelics.
About MBX
MBX Capital is a healthcare and life sciences venture capital firm that invests in good health, for everyone. Through its Atom advisor program, MBX works with hundreds of industry leaders to provide entrepreneurs the intellectual capital and resources to execute on their missions. The firm is based in New York City and founded by Gurdane Bhutani and Zeshan Muhammedi.