problem statement / what is driving the trend
desire to have actually impactful solutions to treat issues rather than ones that don't actually work like anti depressants.
treat the root of the issue not the symptoms
drugs of topic
MDMA
ketamin
psilocybin
applications
PTSD
depression & anxiety
OCD
headaches & migraines
other mental health
inflammatory issues
ketamine clinics are on the rise (MDMA too)
400+ in the US
$200mm+ raised over last 2 years to open more
headwinds
FDA approval / IP
not yet
will increase molecular offerings
long timeline to commercialization
bad hype / risk for substance abuse or even worse consequences
don't wanna see what happened to crypto happen here because this includes real drugs and health
tailwinds
social landscape
COVID-19
regulatory landscape
increasing focus on mental health
big pharma becoming interested
data being released that existing solutions are not working
new federal analysis released that long term use of anti depressants is rising yet very little is known about their long term benefits
does improve depression symptoms over the first few months
funds in the space
PsyMed Ventures
Noetic Fund
Lightbank? and other more generalist
Neo Kuma
Vine Ventures
Palo Santo
questions & thoughts
venture backable?
deep tech usually have longer than venture investing timelines with large upfront capital requirement and potentially fast exits to another large pharma or IPO
precedents: Jazz Pharma buying GW Pharma for 7.2bn, Pfizer buying Arena Pharma for 6.7bn. Both for cannabinoid applications
timeline closer to 2030
what needs to come first is cannabis based products?
perhaps combine w mental health solutions since those are taking off
biggest strides will be in actual drug development. distribution and accessibility will follow always.
focus on team w a strong technical background and GTM background in biotech