Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals Raises $27M In Series A With Prime Movers Lab

Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company that uses psychedelic-related drugs to treat neuropsychiatric disorders, reported Thursday it has raised $27 million in a Series A funding round led by Prime Movers Lab.

Other investors involved in the round included the Noetic Psychedelic Fund LP, Gron Ventures, Route 66 Ventures, JLS Fund and Palo Santo Investors.

Prime Movers Lab, a partnership that invests in breakthrough scientific startups, is known for raising funds for inventors in energy, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing, human augmentation, and agriculture.

With the newly raised capital, New York-based Gilgamesh plans to add more members to its team, including a COO, head of R&D and CBO. It will also work on advancing its programs toward clinical candidate selection and broadening its IP portfolio.

“We are happy to partner with our new investors to help position Gilgamesh at the forefront of creating the next generation of medicines,” CEO and co-founder Dr. Jonathan Sporn said.

“There is a lot of exciting work being done around the research of psychedelic drugs right now. But what differentiates Gilgamesh is that we were founded by individuals who have had previous success and know that the knowledge base and methods that we have is the strongest path forward to develop new drugs,” Sporn added.

Amy Kruse, partner at Prime Movers Lab, said the company’s investment in Gilgamesh coincides with “a psychedelic renaissance with clinicians and researchers finding that psychedelic substances are not just treatments, they can be curative. We’re excited to partner with Gilgamesh and their industry-leading research around medicinal chemistry and neuropharmacology to develop transformative medicines that will make it into the lives of the people who need them most.”

Gilgamesh, the first Y Combinator startup in the psychedelics space, was founded in 2019 by Sporn; Dalibor Sames, PhD; Andrew Kruegel, PhD; Jeff Witkin, PhD and Mike Cunningham, PhD.

Photo by Christopher Ott on Unsplash.