“We see that the drugs on the market are not as therapeutically effective as we would like – it is estimated that up to 30-40% depressed patients do not respond to traditional antidepressants and may switch to several different ones over the course of their illness without getting any response. Therefore, we started our activities with the aim and mission of developing new compounds that could change the lives of people suffering from serious mental illnesses and their relatives – we see great meaning in our work and believe in the potential of these compounds,” says Laura Korsakova, a pharmacist and one of the founders of the startup.
The Renaissance of Psychedelic Substances
The use of psychedelics, known in ritual practice as entheogens, to treat depression, alcoholism, or other mental health disorders is not new. In the 1960s and 1960s, these materials were widely used and studied by scientists and doctors in the United States. Unfortunately, everything changed in the early 1970s, when the then US President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs, including the then more widely understood psychedelic substances. Their use was subsequently banned, along with the suspension of scientific research that could have helped to better understand these substances.
Today, the scientific and medical community is witnessing a psychedelic renaissance – after a long hiatus, mind-altering substances have been legally studied again for scientific purposes, and there is increasing evidence that naturally occurring mushroom alkaloids, adapted in the laboratory and used in combination with other forms of therapy, can be effective in treating depression. and anxiety disorders.
“In some countries, the situation is warming up and the use of these compounds for medical purposes is gradually being decriminalized. Australia became the first country last July to allow patients with a prescription from a psychiatrist to use these compounds for therapeutic purposes. This was determined by the data of ongoing clinical trials. They show that psychedelic substances, which have been demonized and strictly prohibited for more than 40 years, when used responsibly and under the supervision of a specialist, are nevertheless not so toxic and harmful to humans. What’s more, they can cause a positive therapeutic effect,” says the scientist.
She adds that the research opens up the possibility of understanding the human psyche and the molecular mechanisms involved in a more comprehensive way than science has known so far. They also aim to find out for which category of patients these substances are not suitable. At the same time, the pharmacist emphasizes that these substances are not a panacea and irresponsible self-medication can be harmful.
Plans include new compounds and a more efficient method
Having started its research with active mushroom alkaloids such as psilocybin, the startup is currently focusing on completely new and unique molecules with an optimized mechanism of action. The company gets its ideas from nature, because these and similar substances are found all over the world and not only in mushrooms, but also in plants and animals. These materials are transferred to the laboratory, adapted and then the goal is to create a biopharmaceutical preparation that would reach the patient in the clinic.
“In the production of drugs on the market, molecules are synthesized by several methods. Doing this by chemical synthesis, when a small molecule compound is created or, if it is a compound found naturally in nature, for example in mushrooms, it can be extracted from the raw material of the mushroom itself. However, these methods proved ineffective for us, so we created a more efficient alternative – biosynthesis. During it, we modify microorganisms, for example yeast cells, which are often used in the biotechnology industry for the synthesis of various other drugs of protein origin. This method is superior because it produces a larger amount of material, is quite sustainable and does not damage the nature as much,” says the founder of the startup.
State investments and a developed scientific research ecosystem
L. Korsakova is happy with the developed Lithuanian scientific research ecosystem, which creates favorable conditions for carrying out scientific research related to the start-up’s activities, and with the gathering community of scientists and biotechnologists.
However, the expert does not hide that in order to continue scientific activities and release a new drug, large investments are required. For now, the company operates with investors’ money, and enjoys state support – the startup received 100,000. Eur funding from the basket administered by the Innovation Agency. This grant helped to supplement the laboratory with the necessary equipment and recruit more researchers who contributed to the development of the aforementioned biosynthesis method.
“The road to drug development is very long and it takes several years just for the product to enter the market. But for the biopharmaceutical industry, the process itself is understandable, the timeline of events is known, so health technology funds, realizing that the return can be a hundredfold if the company succeeds, invest in startups like us. We are also happy with the relationship with the Innovation Agency, which is a young, active organization that promotes the development of innovation in Lithuania,” shares L. Korsakova.
Jekaterina Kalinienė, head of the innovation agency BioTech Lab, says that the scientific research conducted by the start-up Psylink can become not only a real part of healthcare, but also create new business areas, attract investments and help Lithuania compete in the international arena.
“Our country is perhaps the only member of the European Union, where the life sciences sector has been growing by double digits for almost a decade, and last year it grew by 33 percent. – mostly in Europe. The “StartupBlink” global start-up ecosystem index published this year has already shown that Vilnius is the second best city in the European Union in the field of medical technology, while Kaunas took third place in this sector. We are also seeing great progress, for example, last year alone in the results of the EU funding call “InoStartas” published by the Innovation Agency, an obvious growth was visible, when the number of submitted medical technology startup projects significantly increased”, J. Kalinienė shares her insights.
In order to raise the profile of Lithuanian companies and help businesses establish international partnerships, the Innovation Agency organizes the international event “Life Sciences Baltics” every two years: “At the event, we gather participants from more than 40 countries around the world, we pay great attention to the participants’ networking, which opens up international business prospects for such for our unique startups,” says the expert.
2024-09-10 16:34:30