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In our latest episode, Greg and Matias engage in an insightful discussion with Dr. Bryan Roth, the Michael Hooker Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and the founder of the Roth Lab. Dr. Roth’s lab is on the cutting edge of researching the interaction between brain cell receptors and compounds like LSD and psilocybin. Their findings have the potential to revolutionize the treatment of psychiatric disorders, potentially creating new forms of psychedelics that offer the therapeutic benefits without hallucinations or other side effects. In this episode, we discuss (1) the therapeutic effects of psychedelic and non-hallucinatory compounds, (2) the transition from animal model studies to human trials and (3) the journey of turning deep academic research into viable commercial entities. Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Matias Serebrinsky & Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis,  Nico V. Rey & Caitlin Ner Find us at businesstrip.fm and psymed.venturesFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music: Distant Daze by Zack Frank

In this week's episode, Greg and Matias take a moment to reflect on the opportunities and challenges they have faced while building the PsyMed Ventures syndicate and venture capital fund since starting the Business Trip podcast in 2020. Their ultimate goal is to support founders who are building ethical businesses in frontier mental health technologies with the aim of ending the suffering caused by mental illnesses. This conversation offers an honest insight into raising and deploying a venture capital fund as an emerging manager. Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Matias Serebrinsky & Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis,  Nico V. Rey & Caitlin Ner Find us at businesstrip.fm and psymed.venturesFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music: Distant Daze by Zack Frank

In this week’s episode, Greg and Matias chat with Josh Hardman, the founder of Psychedelic Alpha.  Josh is a leading writer and founder at Psychedelic Alpha, an online resource, newsletter, and community covering the intersection of psychedelics and business. He regularly collaborates and writes with experts in the psychedelic field including entrepreneurs, academic researchers, non-profits, and more to provide a comprehensive understanding of the latest developments in the industry. Psychedelic Alpha recently released Psychedelics 2022: A Year in Review to comment on and analyze the industry across research, funding, and policy.Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Matias Serebrinsky & Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis,  Zack Frank, & Caitlin Ner Find us at businesstrip.fm and psymed.venturesFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music: Distant Daze by Zack Frank

In this week’s special episode, Matias chats with Dr. Rachel Yehuda and Zach Haigney at Soho House in New York City. This is part 2 of a moderated panel recorded in front of a live audience, with part 1 released in June 2022.  Dr. Yehuda has spent the last 30 years doing research on PTSD and trauma and is leading the MDMA-assisted therapy research at the US Veterans Affairs Medical Center and serves as Director at the Mental Health at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center. She is also the Director of the Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital and Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. Zach Haigney writes the Trip Report by Beckley Waves, a newsletter about the science, policy, and business of psychedelics.Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Matias Serebrinsky & Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis,  Zack Frank, & Caitlin Ner Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music: Distant Daze by Zack Frank

This episode shares the story of Tactogen, a drug development company making new chemical entities inspired by MDMA. Co-founder Matt Baggott has been fascinated by MDMA and has studied it for 30 years. And while he believes that MDMA can be effective as a therapeutic, his company is developing an MDMA analogue that is designed to be  gentler and safer, with the potential to be administered in an at-home setting.  Links:Tactogen WeFunder: https://wefunder.com/tactogenCredits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost:  Matias SerebrinskyProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack FrankFind us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music:Distant Daze by Zack Frank

In this new episode of Business Trip, we interview one of the first clinics to offer a protocol that includes TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) and ketamine infusion.TMS is a non-invasive procedure that sends electric currents to specific regions in the brain, including areas linked to depression. It's FDA approved and has been gaining adoption as clinical studies demonstrate safety and efficacy in treating mood disorders.So why the combination? TMS takes a local approach while ketamine stimulates global brain communication, according to Scenic City Neurotherapy founder Charles Miller. There's little data about the combination of TMS with ketamine, making this conversation quite interesting as Miller shares the protocol, science, costs, and treatment outcomes.Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost:  Matias SerebrinskyProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack Frank Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music:Distant Daze by Zack Frank

In this week's episode, we chat with Christian Angermayer. Christian co-founded atai Life Sciences and was an early investor in Compass Pathways -- two of the first companies commercializing psychedelic medicine. Christian also launched a fund dedicated to mental and neurological health called re:Mind, is an investor through his family office Apeiron, and co-founded two longevity biotech companies.Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost:  Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack Frank Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music:Distant Daze by Zack Frank

In this week’s episode, we chat with Melissa Stangl, co-founder of Soltara Healing Center. Soltara is an ayahuasca retreat center whose ceremonies are lead by Shipibo healers, with locations in Peru and Costa Rica. The Shipibo people are from the Peruvian Amazon and are part of a tradition that has been drinking Ayahuasca for healing and spiritual purposes for thousands of years. In their ceremonies, the Shipibo serve ayahuasca and sing songs, called Icaros, which guide the healing process and journey.Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost:  Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack Frank Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music:Distant Daze by Zack Frank

This is final episode in our 3-part series on microdosing that explores the science, history, and clinical applications. In this episode, we discuss the path to FDA approval for microdosing. We chat with the chief medical officers from Diamond Therapeutics and MindMed about their microdosing clinical programs. Diamond's program uses synthetic psilocybin and is focused on anxiety disorders. Meanwhile, MindMed is focused using low doses of LSD to treat adult ADHD.  Our guests are Dr. Michael McDonnell (Diamond Therapeutics) and Dr. Dan Karlin (MindMed). In case you missed it: In part 1, we interviewed psychedelic researcher James Fadiman about the fundamentals of microdosing. In part 2, we discuss placebo effect and the results of a self-blinded placebo-controlled study with Balázs Szigeti from the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London.Disclaimer: This is not investment advice and is for information and educational purposes only. Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost:  Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack Frank Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music:Distant Daze by Zack Frank

This is part 2 or our 3 part series on microdosing that explore the science, history, and clinical applications. In part 1, we interviewed psychedelic researcher James Fadiman about the fundamentals of microdosing.  In part 2, we wanted to understand the placebo effect. In particular, is it the microdose that makes people feel better or it is a placebo effect? We interviewed Balázs Szigeti PhD, who is a researcher associate at the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London. His team conducted the largest placebo-controlled microdosing study in 2020. Balázs unpacks the study and their findings in the episode. Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost:  Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack FrankFind us at businesstrip.fm Follow us on Instagram and Twitter! Theme music by Dorian Love Additional Music: Distant Daze by Zack Frank Zone Out by Daniel Fridell Links to topics discussed in this episode:Self-blinding citizen science to explore psychedelic microdosing (Szigeti et al., 2021) Centre for Psychedelic Research - Imperial College LondonStatistical and clinical significance

In this 3-part series on microdosing, we explore the science, history, and its clinical potential. The anecdotal benefits of microdosing include better mood, creativity, and increased focus. But there are still many unanswered questions that remain. What is an effective dosing protocol? Is it safe in long term use? Does it even work or is it a placebo effect? In part 1, we chat with James Fadiman, Ph.D who has been researching psychedelics since the 1960’s. He's the author of several books, including the Psychedelic Explorer's Guide. He has collected thousands of microdosing reports and even has his own microdosing protocol - called the Fadiman protocol. When we talk about standing on the shoulders of giants, James Fadiman is one of them.Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost:  Greg Kubin Produced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack Frank Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music: Distant Daze by Zack FrankLinks to topics discussed in this episode:Jim's microdosing websiteSofia UniversityThe Psychedelic Explorer's GuidePsychedelics Promote Structural and Functional Neural Plasticity (Ly et al, 2018)

In this week’s episode, we chat with Matt Zorn, an attorney at Yetter Coleman with expertise in DEA law, especially regarding psychedelics. Matt is currently challenging the DEA’s decision to schedule 5 new tryptamines, he recently argued Kathryn Tucker’s psilocybin “Right To Try” case against the DEA, and previously co-led Sue Sisley’s DEA case related to cannabis scheduling. Matt also writes the drug policy newsletter On Drugs.Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Matias Serebrinsky & Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack Frank Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music: Distant Daze by Zack Frank

In this week’s special episode, Matias chats with Dr. Rachel Yehuda and Zach Haigney at Soho House in New York City. The episode was recorded in front of a live audience. Dr. Yehuda has spent the last 30 years doing research on PTSD and trauma and is leading the MDMA-assisted therapy research at the US Veterans Affairs Medical Center.  She is the Director at the Mental Health Patient Care Center at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Director of the Center for Psychedelic Psychotherapy and Trauma Research at Mount Sinai Hospital, as well as Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. Zach Haigney writes the Trip Report by Beckley Waves, a newsletter about the science, policy, and business of psychedelics.Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Matias Serebrinsky & Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack Frank Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music: Distant Daze by Zack Frank

In Episode 18, we chat with Jonathan Sabbagh and Myriam Barthes, the co-founders of Journey Clinical, a platform that enables licensed therapists to offer ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP). Journey Clinical provides licensed therapists with an on-demand KAP-trained medical team, customized treatments for each client, and a portal to connect with other therapists and educational resources. In this episode, we discuss: The journey from idea to 100+ therapist members How ketamine-assisted therapy works and the Journey Clinical's vision for the future Balancing growth with protecting the relationship between patient and therapist Credits:  Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Matias Serebrinsky & Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack Frank Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music: Distant Daze by Zack Frank

In today’s episode, we chat with Lucia Huang, the CEO and co-founder of Osmind, an electronic health record software system for treatment resistant mental health practices that is already in over 300 clinics.  In this episode, we discuss: How Osmind makes data-driven decisions  Osmind’s quick growth in only 2 years What it will take for insurance to cover ketamine therapy, as well as other psychedelic therapies Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Matias Serebrinsky & Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack FrankMarketing by DaisyMae VanValkenburgh Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music: Distant Daze by Zack Frank

In today’s episode, we chat with Tim Schlidt, a partner at Palo Santo. Palo Santo is a fund investing in psychedelic therapeutics. Palo Santo’s portfolio includes companies like Eleusis, Tactogen, and Journey Clinical. In this episode, we discuss: Tim’s background in healthcare finance Investing in classic psychedelic compounds vs. 2nd generation compounds Hallmarks of a good first meeting with a prospective investment Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Matias Serebrinsky & Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack FrankMarketing by DaisyMae VanValkenburgh Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional Music: Distant Daze by Zack Frank

Today’s episode features Dillan Dinardo and Tom Ray, the co-founders of Mindstate Design Labs. Mindstate has a unique framework to design psychedelic compounds using what they call the “primer probe method.” This method involves combining a known psychedelic with a non-psychedelic compound. Mindstate just raised an $11.5M seed round. In this episode, we discuss: Tom and Dillan’s experience in YCombinator and raising an $11.5M seed round Tom’s friendship with the late psychedelic chemist Alexander Shulgin Mindstate’s lead programs The role of mystical states in the healing process Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Matias Serebrinsky & Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack FrankMarketing by DaisyMae VanValkenburgh Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter!Theme music by Dorian Love

Today’s episode announces the launch of PsyMed Ventures, a $25M fund we started with Dina Burkitbayeva to invest in psychedelic medicine companies and mental health technologies. PsyMed Ventures is a community-focused fund and syndicate providing capital and support to companies revolutionizing how mental health is treated. In this episode, we discuss: $25M fund to invest in psychedelic medicine companies and mental health tech How we evaluate new companies Exciting trends in mental health research Our story from starting Business Trip to launching an investment syndicate and fund Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack FrankMarketing by DaisyMae VanValkenburgh Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter! Theme music by Dorian Love

Today’s episode features Amy Emerson, the CEO of MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), which is a fully owned subsidiary of MAPS, and its purpose is to commercialize MDMA-assisted therapy. We discuss the MAPS PBC and it’s business model for MDMA-assisted therapy. In this episode, we discuss: MAPS’ protocol and strategy behind FDA clinical trial for PTSD Amy’s views on the state of the industry, patents, and how to prioritize accessibility The unique business model between MAPS and MAPS PBC Psychedelics for kids Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack FrankMarketing by DaisyMae VanValkenburgh Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter! Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional music: Focus Does the Girl by Muted Circus

In today’s episode, we discuss what it’s like being a psychologist who owns a psychedelic clinic. Genesee Herzberg is the co-founder of Sage Integrative Health, an integrative clinic in Berkeley, CA that offers ketamine-assisted therapy (KAP), psychotherapy, somatic therapy, and acupuncture. Genesee discusses her holistic approach to healing, and shares her experience bootstrapping her clinic and setting up a non-profit to make KAP more affordable. In this episode, we discuss: Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy and the difference between high and low dose ketamine treatments What it takes to get a for-profit clinic off the ground while running a non-profit organization Sage Institute’s mission to make ketamine-assisted psychotherapy affordable for everyone Genesee’s long term goals for the future of psychedelic medicine Created by Greg Kubin and Matias SerebrinskyHost: Matias Serebrinsky & Greg KubinProduced by Jonathan A. Davis & Zack FrankMarketing by DaisyMae VanValkenburghRead the transcript here. Find us at businesstrip.fmFollow us on Instagram and Twitter! Theme music by Dorian LoveAdditional music: Flocean by Zack Frank