Cambridge, UK, May 4, 2023: o2h discovery is thrilled to announce Psylo as a winner of the o2h kickstarter competition 2.0. Psylo, a biotech company based in Sydney, Australia, is utilising artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a pipeline of next-generation psychedelic-inspired drug candidates that will target a variety of mental illnesses.
As part of the kickstarter program, o2h discovery will be providing Psylo 6 FTE chemists for small molecule synthetic chemistry to support Psylo’s psychedelic-inspired NCEs research programme.
Psylo is targeting the 5-HT2A receptor for the treatment of neuropsychiatric conditions based on the emerging promise of psilocybin. The company’s goal is to produce novel medications which are accessible to a broader patient population. Recently, Psylo raised $5 million in a round supported by a local deep-tech fund Main Sequence Ventures, psychedelic-focused funds Lionheart Ventures, Negev Capital and Empath Ventures, as well as the New Zealand-based healthcare VC fund CaraMed Capital.
The o2h kickstarter competition 2.0 was designed to supercharge the chemistry effort of seed stage biotech companies based out of Australia and give them the boost they need to meet their next funding milestone. o2h is excited to support Psylo in their mission to develop innovative treatments for mental illnesses using cutting-edge technology and chemistry.
Joshua Ismin, co-founder and CEO of Psylo, said:
“We are honoured to be recognized as a winner of the o2h Kickstarter competition, and grateful for the support from o2h discovery. Taking on an FTE team from o2h will significantly ramp-up our capacity this year and bring us closer to our goal of creating novel medications to address the mounting mental health crisis.”
Sunil Shah, co-founder of o2h discovery said:
“Psychedelics could have a massive impact on the treatment of severe mental disorders as we are now seeing with supportive clinical data; the excitement around the therapeutic relevance of small molecules to target such indications is growing. o2h discovery has been developing experience and capabilities in this area for the last 5 five years, we are very happy to support Psylo as they embark upon developing novel psychedelics.”
Editor Notes:
About o2h discovery:
Founded in 2005, o2h discovery is a Contract Research Organisation which has an integrated drug discovery platform operating from its state-of-the-art research centre in India and The Mill SciTech Park, Cambridge, UK. We have the in-house capability to execute hit-lead-optimization programs leading into patent and IND filing from our state-of-the-art biotechnology incubator with expertise in discovery chemistry, biology, pharmacology, and the ongoing project management of pre-clinical development.
For more information about o2h Discovery, visit: https://www.o2h.com or email discovery@o2h.com
About Psylo:
Psylo is a biotechnology company developing next-generation therapeutics inspired by psychedelic compounds that exist in nature. Psylo is targeting the 5-HT2A receptor for the treatment of neuropsychiatric conditions based on the emerging promise of psilocybin. Our goal is to produce novel medications which are accessible to a broader patient population. The company is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.
For more information about Psylo, visit: https://psylo.bio/
