Google co-founder backs biotech studying psychedelic African shrub

A female elephant and calf in the jungle in Gabon, where Ibogaine has historically been used as part of spiritual rituals by forest-dwelling tribes. Photo / Xavier Hubert-Brierre.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin is bankrolling the development of a hallucinogen derived from a rainforest shrub for use as a mental health treatment, marking the latest Silicon Valley deal in the nascent psychedelics sector.

Catalyst4, a non-profit investment vehicle set up using the proceeds of Brin’s 2021 sale of his Tesla stake, has committed to cover around $15 million (NZ$24.9m) of a $25m funding round for psychedelic start-up Soneira, according to several people briefed on the discussions.

The biotech is launching clinical trials looking at ibogaine, a shrub native to West Africa, as a treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI), they said.

Ibogaine has historically been used as part of spiritual rituals by forest-dwelling tribes in Gabon due to its mind-altering effects, and has recently gained traction among western psychedelic advocates and mental health researchers.

Earlier this year, a Stanford University study funded by Brin’s charitable foundation found that ibogaine therapy improved mental health symptoms and cognitive function in 30 US military veterans with TBI.

Soneira — which is being advised by Stanford psychiatrist Nolan Williams who worked on the study — is researching how ibogaine can be combined with heart medications to mitigate the risk of fatal cardiac arrhythmia associated with the plant.

The biotech is working on developing a synthetic version of the compound, the people said. Soneira plans to launch early stage clinical trials using the funding.

The interest from Brin’s vehicle, which was established in 2021, is the latest example of Silicon Valley’s enthusiasm for psychedelics — for personal use and as an investment. Catalyst4 was set up with cash from the $366m windfall from Brin’s sale of his entire Tesla stake.

Tesla founder Elon Musk has spoken publicly about his use of ketamine to treat depression, and billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel was one of the early backers of Atai Life Sciences, a biotech researching psychedelic-based mental health treatments that is also studying ibogaine to treat opioid-use disorder.

So far this year, nearly $180m has been invested by venture capitalists in psychedelic biotechs, according to PitchBook data. Investment in the sector hit a record high in 2021, with $528m raised.

Through the Sergey Brin Family Foundation, the Google co-founder has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into research into neurodegenerative and psychological conditions.

Brin, who is the world’s seventh-richest person according to Forbes, discovered in 2004 that he possesses a genetic mutation that puts him at heightened risk of Parkinson’s disease.

Catalyst4, which had total assets of $430m at the end of 2022, has a mandate to invest in breakthrough treatments for neurological disorders and technology to mitigate climate change, according to a filing made with the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt status.

One Catalyst4 board member also works for Brin’s family office, Bayshore Global Management, which with at least $100b of assets is one of the biggest family offices globally.

Around half-a-dozen other parties have also held discussions about investing in Soneira, the people said.

Those include Helena Special Investments, the impact investor behind Lykos Therapeutics, which is awaiting an approval decision by regulators for MDMA as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, and digital health start-up investor LifeForce Capital.

Soneira’s funding round is set to close after summer.

Soneira and Helena declined to comment. Catalyst4 and LifeForce did not respond to requests for comment.

Written by: Oliver Barnes in New York

© Financial Times