 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts |
Key people | Mark Rus (Chief Executive Officer) |
| Website | delixtherapeutics |
Delix Therapeutics is an American biotech company based in Boston, Massachusetts. [1] The company develops novel neuroplasticity-promoting therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). [2] It was co-founded in 2019 by David E. Olson and Nick Haft. [3]
The company was founded to develop novel, non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens, also known as neuroplastogens, to better treat mental health disorders at scale. David E. Olson founded the company following his discovery that psychedelics are highly potent neuroplasticity-promoting compounds. [2] In September 2021, Delix secured a Series A financing round, the largest in the space, to continue their work focused on neuroplastogens and neuroplasticity therapeutics. [4] Also in Fall of 2021, Delix joined the National Institute on Drug Abuse industry partnering program to screen psychoplastogens in models of substance use disorder. [2] In 2021, the company expanded the leadership team, adding a new CEO, [5] CSO, [1] and CMO [1]
In 2021, Delix was named one of the Fierce 15 of Biotech. [6] In 2022, Nature named Delix Spinout of the Year [7] and Delix was awarded the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) ACE award. [8] In 2023, Delix was a finalist for the Prix Galien award for Best Startup [9] and the BWB award for Biotech Innovation of the Year [10] and won the Biotech Breakthrough Award for Neuroscience Therapeutics Company of the Year. [11]
To date, the company has synthesized over 2000 novel psychoplastogens. [12] Many of these small molecule compounds are analogs of known psychedelics such as ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT. [13] Delix focuses on the development of non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens as scalable alternatives to first-generation hallucinogenic psychoplastogens like ketamine and psilocybin. [14] Their compounds have been engineered to lack cardiotoxicity and psychostimulant properties characteristic of other first-generation psychoplastogens. [15] The company’s known drug candidates include DLX-001 (AAZ-A-154), tabernanthalog (DLX-007), and DLX-159. [16] [17] Delix has licensed these compounds from UC Davis. [18]
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic hallucinogens or serotonergic hallucinogens, the term psychedelic is sometimes used more broadly to include various types of hallucinogens, such as those which are atypical or adjacent to psychedelia like salvia and MDMA, respectively.
Psychedelic therapy refers to the proposed use of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, LSD, psilocin, mescaline (peyote), DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, Ibogaine, MDMA, to treat mental disorders. As of 2021, psychedelic drugs are controlled substances in most countries and psychedelic therapy is not legally available outside clinical trials, with some exceptions.
Ibogaine is a psychoactive indole alkaloid obtained either by extraction from plants in the family Apocynaceae such as Tabernanthe iboga, Voacanga africana, and Tabernaemontana undulata or by semi-synthesis from the precursor compound voacangine, another plant alkaloid. The total synthesis of ibogaine was described in 1956. Structural elucidation by X-ray crystallography was completed in 1960.
AL-34662 is an indazole derivative drug that is being developed for the treatment of glaucoma. It acts as a selective serotonin 5-HT2 receptor agonist, including of the 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, and 5-HT2C receptors (affinity (IC50Tooltip half-maximal inhibitory concentration) = 14.5, 8.1, and 3.0 nM, respectively). The serotonin 5-HT2A receptor is the same target as that of psychedelic drugs like psilocin. Unlike these drugs however, AL-34662 was designed specifically as a peripherally selective drug, which does not cross the blood–brain barrier. This means that AL-34662 can exploit a useful side effect of the hallucinogenic 5-HT2A receptor agonists, namely reduction in intra-ocular pressure and hence relief from the symptoms of glaucoma, but without causing the psychedelic effects that make centrally active serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonists unsuitable for clinical use. In animal studies, AL-34662 has been shown to be potent and effective in the treatment of symptoms of glaucoma, with minimal side effects.
2-Bromo-LSD, also known as BOL-148 or as bromolysergide, is a derivative of lysergic acid invented by Albert Hofmann, as part of the original research from which the closely related compound LSD was also derived. It is a non-hallucinogenic serotonin 5-HT2A receptor partial agonist, as well as acting at other targets, with psychoplastogenic and antidepressant-like effects in animals.
Iboga-type alkaloids are a set of monoterpene indole alkaloids comprising naturally occurring compounds found in Tabernanthe and Tabernaemontana, as well as synthetic structural analogs. Naturally occurring iboga-type alkaloids include ibogamine, ibogaine, tabernanthine, and other substituted ibogamines. Many iboga-type alkaloids display biological activities such as cardiac toxicity and psychoactive effects, and some have been studied as potential treatments for drug addiction.
Psychedelic microdosing involves consuming sub-threshold doses (microdoses) of serotonergic psychedelic drugs like LSD and psilocybin to potentially enhance creativity, energy, emotional balance, problem-solving abilities, and to address anxiety, depression, and addiction. This practice has gained popularity in the 21st century. A June 2024 report by the RAND Corporation suggests that among adults in the United States reporting the use of psilocybin in the past year, nearly half reported microdosing the last time they used it.
Tabernanthalog is a novel water-soluble, non-toxic azepinoindole analog of the psychoactive drug Tabernanthine first synthesized by Professor David E. Olson at UC Davis.
DLX-001, also known as AAZ-A-154 or as (R)-5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyl-α-methylisotryptamine, is a novel isotryptamine derivative which acts as a serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonist discovered and synthesized by the lab of Professor David E. Olson at the University of California, Davis. It is being developed for the treatment of major depressive disorder and other central nervous system disorders.
Mind Medicine (MindMed) Inc., doing business as MindMed, is a New York-based biotechnology company that is currently developing clinical and therapeutic applications for psychedelic and, more broadly, psychoplastogenic drugs.
Psychoplastogens are a group of small molecule drugs that produce rapid and sustained effects on neuronal structure and function, intended to manifest therapeutic benefit after a single administration. Several existing psychoplastogens have been identified and their therapeutic effects demonstrated; several are presently at various stages of development as medications including ketamine, MDMA, scopolamine, and the serotonergic psychedelics, including LSD, psilocin, DMT, and 5-MeO-DMT. Compounds of this sort are being explored as therapeutics for a variety of brain disorders including depression, addiction, and PTSD. The ability to rapidly promote neuronal changes via mechanisms of neuroplasticity was recently discovered as the common therapeutic activity and mechanism of action.
David E. Olson is an American chemist and neuroscientist. He is an associate professor of chemistry, biochemistry and molecular medicine at the University of California, Davis, and is the founding director of the UC Davis Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics.
Robin Lester Carhart-Harris is a British psychopharmacologist who is Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. Previously, he founded and was Head of the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London.
BMB-201 is a serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptor agonist described as a non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogen which is under development for the treatment of depression, anxiety, pain, and other indications.
Isotryptamine, also known as 2-(1-indolyl)ethylamine, is a chemical compound and positional isomer of tryptamine.
6-MeO-isoDMT, or 6-OMe-isoDMT, also known as 6-methoxy-N,N-dimethylisotryptamine, is a serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonist, putative serotonergic psychedelic, and psychoplastogen of the isotryptamine group. It is the isotryptamine analogue of the psychedelic 5-MeO-DMT and is a positional isomer of the non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogen 5-MeO-isoDMT.
α-Methylisotryptamine is a synthetic compound belonging to the tryptamine class, known for its psychoactive properties. As a structural analog of α-methyltryptamine (αMT), isoAMT exhibits entactogenic and psychedelic effects.
isoDMT, also known as N,N-dimethylisotryptamine, is a putatively non-hallucinogenic serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonist and psychoplastogen of the isotryptamine group. It is the isotryptamine homologue of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a more well-known serotonergic psychedelic of the tryptamine family, and represents a small structural modification of DMT.
DLX-159 is a putatively non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogen which is under development for the treatment of major depressive disorder and other psychiatric disorders. It is taken by mouth.
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