Eleusis (pharmaceutical company)

Last updated
Eleusis
Industry Pharmaceutical; Psychedelic medicine
Founded2013;12 years ago (2013) [1]
FounderShlomi Raz; Charles D. Nichols [1]
Headquarters
London [1]
,
United Kingdom [1]
Number of employees
7 [1]  (2020 [1] )
Parent Beckley Psytech [2] [3]
Website https://web.archive.org/web/20240801000000*/http://www.eleusisltd.com/

Eleusis is a pharmaceutical company that is developing serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonists related to serotonergic psychedelics as novel anti-inflammatory drugs to treat inflammatory diseases. [1] [4] It is interested in developing the drugs for treatment of conditions like asthma, cardiovascular disease, and Crohn's disease, but is initially focusing on ophthalmology. [4]

Contents

Its drug candidates include ELE-02 (2C-iBu) and its predecessor ELE-01, which are both phenethylamines. [1] [5] It is developing ELE-02 as a topical eye drop to treat inflammatory eye conditions. [1] [5] (R)-DOI is said to be a fallback candidate for ELE-02. [5] The company is also studying lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) microdosing in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. [1] [4] [6] In addition, they are studying psilocybin infusion (ELE-101; ELE-Psilo; ELE-Psilo+) and ketamine (ELE-Ket+) for treatment of major depressive disorder. [7] [8]

Eleusis was co-founded by business executive and former Goldman Sachs managing director Shlomi Raz and by psychedelic pharmacologist Charles D. Nichols in London, United Kingdom in 2013. [1] [4] The company was named after the Eleusinian Mysteries. [1] It was the first company to start developing psychedelic drugs as medicines. [4] Raz is the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and chairman, while Nichols is its lead scientist. [4] [1] Emeline Maillet is the company's scientific director and Tim Foster is a collaborator or colleague of Nichols and another scientist at Eleusis. [1] A preclinical and clinical development program to develop novel serotonergic anti-inflammatory agents with reduced or no hallucinogenic effects was launched in 2015 and led to its ELE compounds. [4]

Eleusis was acquired by Beckley Psytech in October 2022. [2] [3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Newvine, Colleen (8 July 2020). "Eleusis Draws on Research Into Psychedelics To Develop New Medicines for Inflammation". Lucid News - Psychedelics, Consciousness Technology, and the Future of Wellness. Retrieved 16 February 2025. Maillet is overseeing Eleusis' study of a novel serotonin 5-HT 2A agonist – or chemical that binds to a receptor and produces a biological response. Our brains make serotonin, which is perhaps best known as the target of common pharmaceutical treatments for depression. Other psychedelic substances, such as psilocybin, also work on this specific serotonin receptor. Eleusis' new substance, called ELE-02, also binds to the serotonin receptor. ELE-02, and its forerunner ELE-01, are similar to substituted phenethylamines, a class of organic compounds which includes mescaline. "We might be dealing with a potential new drug class," says Maillet. She says ELE-02 is structurally related to mescaline, but may have greatly reduced psychoactivity at therapeutically useful doses. "It's a completely different process than for LSD." ELE-02 was created by Nichols who says his goal was to develop a drug that retains the anti-inflammatory properties his studies have found in psychedelic substances, while reducing or managing the psychological effects.
  2. 1 2 Gunther, Marc (26 October 2022). "What's the Future of Eleusis Therapeutics After Acquisition by Beckley Psytech?". Lucid News - Psychedelics, Consciousness Technology, and the Future of Wellness. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Beckley Psytech Strengthens Pipeline and Development Team With Acquisition of Eleusis Therapeutics Limited". Psychedelic Alpha. Psychedelic Alpha. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Psychedelic Alpha (3 June 2020). "Interview with Shlomi Raz, CEO and Chairman of Eleusis". Psychedelic Alpha. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Shlomi Raz, Eleusis (February 2020). Eleusis Drug Development Overview. LSX World Congress 2020.
  6. ↑ Family N, Maillet EL, Williams LT, Krediet E, Carhart-Harris RL, Williams TM, Nichols CD, Goble DJ, Raz S (March 2020). "Safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of low dose lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in healthy older volunteers". Psychopharmacology (Berl). 237 (3): 841–853. doi:10.1007/s00213-019-05417-7. PMC   7036065 . PMID   31853557.
  7. ↑ "Psilocybin infusion". AdisInsight. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  8. ↑ "Ketamine - Beckley Psytech". AdisInsight. 28 January 2024. Retrieved 17 February 2025.


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