What Is Precision Psychiatry? Biotech Company Leverages New Approach To Mental Health Disorders

Atai Life Sciences ATAI, a biotech company in the psychedelics space, announced the formation of a new subsidiary, called PsyProtix.

PsyProtix is a precision psychiatry company focused on developing therapeutics for treatment-resistant depression and other mental health indications. The company will be added to Atai’s growing list of portfolio companies looking to tackle mental health disorders with an alternative approach.

The precision psychiatry approach taken by PsyProtix is “an emerging field that aims to treat disorders by factoring each patient’s variability in genes, metabolism, environment, and lifestyle,” said the company in a press release.

Traditionally, psychiatric patients are diagnosed and treated based on guidelines and protocols designed for large populations. Precision psychiatry is designed to allow physicians to prescribe treatments specifically targeted to the individual.

“Our view is that each patient is unique, meaning that any given patient will likely have specific individual needs,” said Srinivas Rao, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Atai.

PsyProtix will focus on metabolomic mechanisms underlying depression symptoms for certain patients with the goal of deriving more tailored treatments.

The new company is the result of research conducted at Duke University by Dr. Kaddurah-Daouk, a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in Duke’s School of Medicine. 

Photo: Pexels.