OMIND SCIENCE
Supporting mental health and well-being through the biosynthesis of the new generation of natural psychedelic compounds
Omind Science is a Canadian biotechnology company that aims to become a leader in the development of novel biomanufacturing platforms to produce pharmaceutical grade natural psychoactive compounds targeting mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, psychological traumas and addictions.
Inspired by nature and the richness of our marine ecosystem, we leverage the potential of plants and other organisms to cost-effectively produce, using bioreactors, psychedelic and related natural compounds that address the unmet needs for mental health and well-being.
Our vision is to make mental health products available to those in need by providing accessible science-driven natural compounds.
OUR APPROACH
Novel biomanufacturing platforms for the development of natural mental health products
Based on a novel approach soon to be proprietary, we use microalgae and other organisms as microbial cell-factories to produce, in bioreactors, psilocybin and other natural compounds as therapeutics agents to promote mental health and cognitive functions.
The rationale is that these microorganisms have remarkable biotechnological potential to produce a range of bio-compounds such as pigments, lipids, polysaccharides, biopolymers, proteins, and vitamins when submitted to specific conditions.
When cultivated in bioreactors, they offer a potentially high productivity, lack of seasonality, a much higher controlled environment when compared to the production in their natural environment. Also, once this production process is implemented, significant cost reduction to biosynthesize the target molecules as well as improvements of quality control parameters are expected. OMind’s compounds will comply with pharmaceutical-grade standards.
Canada and the world are in the grips of a mental health crisis that ruins health, threatens lives and hurts economies.
Knowing the facts is the first step on the way to creating new hope.
- From addiction to dementia to schizophrenia, approximately 1 billion people worldwide suffer from a mental disorder.
- Mental disorders account for 30% of non-fatal disease burden worldwide and 10% of overall disease burden, including death and disability, thus imposing a heavy public health burden.
The economic burden of mental illness in Canada is estimated at over $50 billion per year. This includes health care costs, lost productivity, and reductions in health-related quality of life.
Current treatments do not adequately address the complex challenges of mental illness. Fortunately, in recent years, clinical trials have begun for what could prove to be a renaissance for mental health care: the use of psychedelics.
Psychedelic drug-assisted psychotherapy is a novel approach to address the unmet medical needs in mental health.
The psychedelic effects of some plants and fungi have been known and deliberately exploited by humans for thousands of years. Psilocybin, the active compound found in the so called “magic mushrooms”, is probably one of the best-known psychedelics along with ketamine and MDMA.
With its use being legally controlled since the early 70s, psychedelic research was very limited for a long time. Only recently psychedelic research has slowly made its reintroduction back into the paradigm of modern science and many clinical studies confirm the potential of psychedelics-assisted therapy as a promising adjunct to psychotherapy.
This new approach is gaining such momentum that renowned health centers, such as the John Hopkins University (USA), Harvard University (USA) and the Imperial College (UK), have in their Medicine department a dedicated Center for Psychedelic Research. Their research programs focus on the use of psychedelics for illnesses such as anxiety and depression.
Psychedelics have inspired new hope for treating brain disorders, as they seem to be unlike any treatments currently available. Not only do they produce sustained therapeutic effects following a single administration, but they also appear to have broad therapeutic potential, demonstrating efficacy for treating depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorder, and alcohol use disorder, among others.
The growing prevalence of mental depression, anxiety, stress and availability of off-label drugs propelled the demand of the psychedelic drugs market, particularly psilocybin-assisted psychotherapies, which may alleviate some of the challenges that face conventional psychiatric medicine.
In the 2nd quarter of 2019, more than US$ 320 million were invested into psychedelic neuropharmaceutical development, followed by an estimated US$ 100 million investment into various psychedelic research and clinical trials in the 3rd quarter of 2019.
Global psychedelic drugs market is expected to grow from $3.21 in 2021 to a value of $6.33 billion in 2026 with a CAGR of 14.5% during the forecast period as there is a large unmet need for treatment driving the adoption of psychedelic drugs.
For further information please contact [email protected].
PARTNERSHIPS
OMind Innovations has access to a significant network at both provincial and federal levels, as well as with R&D institutions and private organizations.
Our partners have a successful track record of pure and applied research with
bioreactors, including those using microalgae, applied chemistry, as well as chemistry manufacturing control. In these partnership agreements, we can also benefit from research centre infrastructures, staff and in-house expertise, saving our team substantial expenses that would have been incurred otherwise. Inversely, this represents a unique opportunity for creating tangible value.
OUR TEAM
PASCAL CÔTÉ MSc, LL.B
A business lawyer with expertise in corporate law and international business management, intellectual property and finance analysis. He acted as Chair of the Montreal Bar’s International Relations Committee from 2014 to 2019.
EDUARDO BITTENCOURT Ph.D
An executive in the field of applied sciences with 12 years of experience in leadership, strategic vision, budget management, project delivery, applied research and research funding management. He holds a Ph.D., a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree in forestry, combining his applied knowledge from Brazil and from Canada.
ISABELLE DUFRESNE M.Sc., MBA, Adm.A.
An executive in the field of innovation with 20+ years of experience in the management and financing of technology companies. Thorough experience in venture capital as well as technology assessments and intellectual property management.
CHRISTINA JUNEAU Ph.D
A R&D professional by excellence with a very extensive track record of three decades in the pharmaceutical and bioscience industry. Experience designing drugs that reached Clinical Phase 3 testing. Managed large research (CRO) groups in different biotechnology and pharmaceutical environments. She completed her PhD in Food Science at Laval University (Quebec) in 2005 after doing applied R&D projects for more than ten years.
NANCY CARON CPA
An experienced financial professional, Nancy Caron earned her degree in Business Administration, Accounting in 1995 and her CPA designation in 1997. With more than 25 years of experience, she brings expertise in accounting compliance, financial strategies, budgeting, and forecasting.
ADVISORY BOARD
SAMUEL GODEFROY, Ph.D.
Former Director General of Health Canada’s Food Directorat. Former Vice Chair of the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission. Full Professor of Food Risk Analysis and Regulatory Policies in the Department of Food Science, Laval University (Quebec).
Dr VALÉRIE TOURJMAN, MD Psychiatry
Psychiatrist and researcher, Dr. Valérie Tourjman is Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Montreal and Medical Head of the Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program at the Mental Health Institute of Montreal.
Dr CLAUDE HARITON, Ph.D., D.Sc.
He is currently Vice President & Chief Scientific Officer at diaMentis, a Canadian company developing a simple and reliable solution to diagnose mental diseases from retinal signals in the eye. The technology that he leads the development was recently accepted into the U.S. FDA’s breakthrough devices program.
Dr GEORGES TSOUKAS, MD, FRCPC, Endocrinology
Senior endocrinologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University (Montreal).
CONTACT
For further information please contact us
HEAD OFFICE
800 - 885 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6C 3H1, Canada
CORPORATE OFFICE
201, Monseigneur Bourget Lévis, Québec, G6V 6Z3, Canada