Australia Gets Psychedelics Research Institute With $29M In Funding From Undisclosed North American Company

A new research institute called The Psychae Institute was announced on Friday, and will focus on advancing psychedelics research in Australia.

The newly-founded research organization plans to launch clinical research into psilocybin, DMT and MDMA, among others molecules.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the Melbourne-based institute is lifting off with initial funding of AU$40 million ($29.3 million) from an undisclosed North American biotechnology company.

Funding will be delivered over five years. The institute expects to receive more funding from philanthropic donations, private investment and government grants.

The unrevealed backing company expressed an intention to remain undisclosed as part of its strategy to secure private investment.

“There’s a lot of people where [pharmaceutical drugs] don’t work very well, if at all, or they have significant side effects. There’s a desperate need for new types of treatments,” said Psychae Institute co-director Daniel Perkins, an adjunct associate professor at Swinburne University and the University of Melbourne.

According to the professor, Australia is the perfect place to progress clinical trials as it requires regulatory notifications instead of approvals, unlike many other countries like the U.S. 

The institute will also oversee clinical studies in the U.K., Canada, Europe and Brazil and plans to launch its own clinical research in early 2022.

Photo: Melbourne skyline Denise Jans on Unsplash