ATAI Life Sciences AG

What is a mental health leave of absence? A mental health leave of absence is time a person takes away from work to address a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety. According to ComPsych, the largest global provider of employee mental health services and absence administration, shows there’s been a staggering 300% increase in mental health-related leaves from 2017 to 2023 – with this trend being mainly driven by working women.    While it’s clear that there has been a reduction in mental health stigma – and people are able to take time off work to prioritize their mental health there obviously remains a huge barrier to care. We need to be working towards solutions to ideally prevent the need for a mental health leave in the first place.   Thanks Jennifer Birdsall, Ph.D., ABPP for sharing these findings and looking for a path forward, for all.  https://lnkd.in/g4pTVk33  

Earlier this week we announced positive topline results from the Phase 1b trial of VLS-01 for patients with treatment-resistance depression.   If you’re nerds like us, and are curious about understanding how the compound, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, (DMT) works check out this blog from our co-CEO Srinivas Rao below. ⬇️   https://lnkd.in/gZ_ewtVQ

This quarter we made great strides in progressing our clinical-stage assets aimed at addressing significant unmet needs in mental health. This morning we announced positive Phase 1b results for VLS-01 (oral buccal film DMT), with a Phase 2 study in 142 patients with treatment-resistant depression expected to initiate around year end. For a deeper dive into the data, see our August Corporate Presentation linked below. We also announced our clinical development plans for EMP-01 (oral R-MDMA) and expect to initiate a Phase 2 study in social anxiety disorder (SAD) later this year. This follows encouraging Phase 1 results, where EMP-01 demonstrated a unique subjective profile compared to racemic MDMA and classical psychedelics. With no novel molecules approved for SAD in over 20 years, it remains an area of critical unmet need. Full press release: https://lnkd.in/ePtWWAgN August corporate presentation: https://lnkd.in/e27trjSj #MentalHealth #Biotech #EveryoneEverywhere #Q2 #Earnings

Today we're pleased to announce positive preliminary results from our Phase 1b trial of VLS-01, our proprietary oral transmucosal film formulation of DMT. We're developing it for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD), a condition which impacts the lives of an estimated 100 million people globally. The Phase 1b results support the potential of VLS-01 as a patient-friendly, needle-free, short-duration treatment option that aligns with the two-hour in-clinic paradigm that has been established in interventional psychiatry. The results lay a strong foundation for Phase 2. We've designed a robust trial in 142 patients with TRD, which we expect to initiate around the end of this year. Read the full announcement here: https://lnkd.in/eGfbkBGq #MentalHealth #ClinicalTrials #TreatmentResistantDepression

Next week is our annual atai summer shut down.   Our team is taking time off – across offices, time zones and departments – to prioritize one of our core values, conscious care. To us, conscious care means maximizing our energy through rest, renewal and rhythm. Again and again science proves that adequate rest (whether this is sleep, dedicated ‘unfocus’ or simply taking a vacation) are vital to both our physical and mental health.   Setting aside time for an uninterrupted break is a priority for us so that our team can be as focused, productive and energized as possible.

In a recent Atlantic piece, journalist Jerusalem Demsas stated the ’normalization that many people do struggle with severe mental illnesses—has been one of the great cultural transformations of the 21st century.’   And while this may be true – there is still so much work to do to end stigma and discrimination associated with mental health. According to the Lancet Commission on Ending Stigma and Discrimination in Mental Health Review published in 2022, stigma continues to be the biggest barrier to thriving. In addition, stigma has also been cited as a reason that mental health services receive less funding and are considered less prestigious than other health services in many countries. The Lancet review provided eight recommendations for various stakeholders on what to do to reduce stigma – one of those being the WHO. We’re thrilled to share that the WHO has answered their call, and will publish their own, ‘WHO MOSAIC toolkit to end stigma and discrimination in mental health’, which will provide practical guidance on deploying anti-stigma initiatives. We’ll be sure to share it once it’s live – but for now, learn what you can do every day to help combat discrimination and stigma in mental health: https://lnkd.in/ef5ps9En

There’s an important academic debate surrounding Jonathan Haidt’s new book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, and whether there is enough substantial evidence to back his claim that smartphones and social media are causing an adolescent mental health crisis.   As a team of researchers and scientists we are data-driven. Our decisions are evidence-based, and we firmly believe that theories must be factually supported. We’re also a team of parents, aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers – and we have witnessed firsthand the negative consequences of social media on the young people in our lives.   Why there might not yet be irrefutable data to prove that technology and social media are the cause, we’d argue that there is enough to prove that U.S. adolescents – particularly girls – are battling a mental health crisis.   Our recommendation is to educate yourself – read Professor Haidt’s book, look at the American Psychological Association’s April report, familiarize yourself with Dr Lucy Foulkes’ research on the potential overinflation of adolescent mental health claims, but importantly, talk (and listen!) to the young people in your life.   Read more about the debate: https://lnkd.in/ebZ_tsD6

Our management team will participate in the H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC Neuro Perspectives conference on Thursday June 27.   Co-CEOs Srinivas Rao and Florian Brand will engage in a fireside chat which will be available on-demand from 7:00 am ET via the following link. https://lnkd.in/ekjwjJc4   There will be a replay on the Investors section of our website under Events for 90 days.    #NeuroPerspectives #MentalHealth

Read our Co-Founder and Co-CEO’s HLTH Europe recap below 👇

📣 Exciting update on Beckley Psytech’s Phase 1/2a trial of ELE-101 (IV psilocin) for major depression.   ELE-101 is an intravenous formulation of psilocin designed to provide consistent and controllable drug delivery. As the active metabolite of psilocybin, psilocin has the potential to offer a rapid onset, significantly shorter treatment duration and reduced variability between patients, compared to oral formulations of psilocybin. This could enhance convenience and therapeutic outcomes for patients with depression while reducing the resource burden on healthcare systems   Today’s news release shares initial results from the Phase 1 part of the study and announces that the first patients have been dosed in the Phase 2a part.   Full press release here: https://lnkd.in/e4UfBhgg