Beckley Psytech, a private company dedicated to addressing neurological and psychiatric disorders through psychedelic medicine, has appointed ex-GW Pharmaceuticals CFO Adam George as a director with immediate effect.
Bringing nearly two decades of experience in the pharmaceuticals industry, Adam served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for five years at GW Pharmaceuticals, the UK-based drug development company focused on using cannabinoid therapeutics for treating a range of diseases. During this time he oversaw the company’s initial public offering on Nasdaq, and was involved in subsequent fundraisings totalling over $1.4 billion.
Adam went on to serve as UK Managing Director from 2017 until December 2020, where he held joint responsibility for leading GW Pharmaceuticals’ Research and Development programmes. Since 2018, he has also served as Audit Committee Chairman for clinical-stage biopharma NuCana Plc, and has held several senior financial roles across both public and private companies in his 30-year career.
In his role at Beckley Psytech, Adam will be responsible for heading up the company’s Audit Committee and will bring to the Board extensive experience of running major growth businesses in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Adam joins the company at an exciting time following a highly successful £14m funding round in December 2020, and UK regulatory approval to begin a ground-breaking clinical trial exploring the effects of low-dose psilocybin for treating a rare and debilitating headache condition known as short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks (SUNHA).
Cosmo Feilding Mellen, CEO at Beckley Psytech, says: “Adam brings a wealth of senior-level experience in scaling promising life sciences companies, including leading the highly successful Nasdaq IPO for GW Pharmaceuticals during his time as CFO. His knowledge and experience of developing controlled drugs into FDA-approved pharmaceutical medicines for patients in need is particularly relevant for us, and I’ve no doubt Adam’s stewardship on the board will be invaluable to Beckley Psytech as we continue on our own rapid growth journey.”
Adam George, Independent Director at Beckley Psytech, says: “I am delighted to be joining the Beckley Psytech team at this exciting time. I see so many parallels between GW’s cannabis pharmaceutical development story and Beckley Psytech’s mission to develop a pipeline of pharmaceutical medicines from psychedelic molecules for the benefit of patients, and hope that I can apply my GW experience to help the company continue on its ambitious trajectory.”
