projected costs of mental disorders by 2030 (including lost productivity)

number of Europeans who have legal access to medical cannabis

projected sales of medical cannabis in Europe in 2022

Forget popping pills at a rave or escaping to a hippie commune: if a new
wave of startups have it their way, the future of psychedelics and cannabis
will lie in controlled clinical settings complete with prescriptions and
therapists. They’re pushing for a renaissance and a rebrand of drugs that’s
all about science, not excess, and healing, not getting high.

With their products already in use in an increasing number of European
countries, medical cannabis startups are further along this path than
psychedelics startups, which are seeking to create a market from scratch
— that is, once they’ve identified the best compounds for treatment and
received regulatory approval. What ties the two together is the need for
a methodical process to build trust in this new age of recreational drug
turned therapeutic.

Psychedelics & medical cannabis

Has opened Europe's first commercial psychedelic research facility in London which provides the infrastructure drug development companies need to run clinical trials - for now focusing on psilocybin

Clerkenwell Health

Drug development company that uses yeast fermentation to produce psychedelics compounds which can otherwise be difficult to make in the quality required for clinical development.

Octarine Bio

Developing cannabinoid therapeutics for conditions that include autism, epilepsy and Alzheimer's. Founder Eduardo Sampaio previously cofounded Australia's fisrt marketplace fo hemp food products.

Piauhy

We identify companies as ‘rising stars’ using a number of criteria including founder backgrounds, investor track record, funding and valuation, and growth signals.

Dealroom.co

Sifted.eu

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8 cannabis investors share their outlook on the European market in H1 2022

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European companies set to dominate psychedelics market

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Psychedelic drugs may transform mental health care. And big business is ready to profit from the revolution.

The European Cannabis Investment Ecosystem

Succeeding in European Cannabis

The European Cannabis Report: 7th Edition

→ €1.9bn market cap

→ Has patented a synthetic
version of psilocybin to
treat depression

Compass Pathways

→ €1.3bn market cap

→ Owns 10 companies each
working on a different
compound to treat mental
health issues

ATAI Life Sciences

→ Vertically integrated cannabis
company acquired for over
€300m by Curaleaf

Emmac Life Sciences

ohne

Daye

Rainbow

Wavepaths

Neurocentrx

Tetra Pharm Technologiesc

Canax

AVIDA Global

GreenLight Medicines Ltd

The Beemine Lab

Cannaable

Thankyoujane / Cantura

Voyager CBD

Alphagreen Group

Puresport 

Becanex

Highline Wellness

Signature Products GmbH

Grass & Co.

Yamnaya

ProfesorCBD

Grow

→ Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is a promising approach, but its
growth is complicated by the need for therapists to stay with patients
during their trips.

→ Startups are experimenting with digital guides and virtual therapists as
well as shorter-acting psychedelics like 5-MeO-DMT to see if they can
boost accessibility.

→ Administering psychedelics is considerably more complex than regular
antidepressants, with the colours and lighting of surroundings affecting
the outcome, for example.

→ Running trials in connection with wearables could provide more data on
responses, as would increasing the diversity of study participants.

→ The picture for medical cannabis remains messy across Europe, with
countries offering different regulatory policies and insurance coverage,
and prices for patients differing wildly as a result.

→ Beyond the issue of access, greater standardisation on quality will be
needed to ensure the efficacy of treatment — and further increase
adoption.

→ The increased uptake of medical cannabis is creating opportunities
for startups beyond cultivation and distribution. These could include
optimising plant genetics or building consumption devices and patient
data collecting apps.

→ Similarly, psychedelics startups could evolve beyond their risky biotech
origins to running specialised clinics, manufacturing ingredients or
developing support for digital therapy.