Startup Developing Sublingual Psilocybin Raises $34 Million

Mushroom soup for the mind? –

Oct. 22, 2020 – In two prior deals, Cybin raised $10 million from investors. In June, Cybin announced a deal to complete a reverse takeover of Canadian mining company Clarmin Explorations Inc. After the reverse takeover is complete, Cybin plans to apply to the NEO Exchange.

Founded in 2019 by a group of bankers, cannabis entrepreneurs and investors, Eric So, Paul Glavine and John Kanakis, Cybin has partnered with pharmaceutical drug delivery manufacturer IntelGenx to make its psilocybin transmucosal films. Cybin decided to make its product Psilotonin a sublingual film so it would have a fast onset. Oral capsules can take up to an hour to start working.

“It’ll be pretty close to intravenous dosing, which is instant,” says Drysdale. “We expect this to be quite fast. Within minutes.”

Psilocybin is a tryptamine that binds to serotonin receptor 5-HT2A and causes intense hallucinations and psychedelic experiences. Studies academic institutions including Johns Hopkins and Imperial College London have found that psychedelic drugs have significant potential in treating mental health disorders, including certain types of depression.

Drugs like Psilotonin, and other proposed products being developed by companies like Compass and MindMed, and nonprofits like Usona and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), will not be for take home use. Psychedelic-assisted therapy will require patients to be guided throughout a four-to-six-hour psychedelic trip in a therapist’s office. It will also require multiple therapy sessions before and after treatment. Drysdale, who has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 30 years, says reducing the onset time will help reduce the session time for patients.