With 18 months of experience providing access to safe, legal, and medically-supervised psychedelic experiences, Synthesis is on a mission to connect, bolster and empower the psychedelic ecosystem — from research to training to access.
Ongoing collaboration with leading researchers from Imperial College London points to expanded data-sets and knowledge about psilocybin’s effects on overall wellbeing.
Amsterdam, Netherlands – WEBWIRE – Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Synthesis Institute BV (“Synthesis”), a leader in professional, medically-supervised psychedelic experiences, has closed a US$2.75 million round of funding led by Novamind Ventures. In the midst of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic — and a 20% spike in prescriptions for antidepressant and anti-anxiety drugs — the seed funding will be used to further develop the company’s scientist-backed, data-driven platform for psychedelic research, training and access to legal experiences. Numerous studies have shown psilocybin experiences can greatly reduce depression and anxiety, while improving overall well-being, prompting the FDA to designate psilocybin a “breakthrough therapy.”
The breadth of government-approved research into the therapeutic properties of psychedelics — including psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine — continues to grow, while many questions around safe and legal access to professional care remain. Synthesis, founded in 2018, leads the industry with a hybrid model that bridges the gap between clinical-grade protocols used in research trials with a more accessible wellness-based setting and retreat framework. Synthesis’ immersive, group-based model for facilitating these experiences, including somatic and mindfulness practices, honors a fully interdisciplinary approach to the use of psychoactive plants.
With their flagship center located near Amsterdam — where edible truffles containing psilocybin (the same psychedelic compound found in ‘magic mushrooms’) are legal — Synthesis offers the world’s highest quality psilocybin experiences outside of clinical trials. Since opening its doors, approximately 1,000 people have booked retreats at Synthesis. Synthesis is known for its comprehensive health screening process, which is based on and expands upon the protocols used in psilocybin clinical research trials at Johns Hopkins University and Imperial College London, among other world-class academic institutions researching psilocybin.
With a stronger emphasis on clinical treatment and education, we will appeal to practitioners seeking psychedelic-centric training, while maintaining the high standards of ethics and transpersonal understanding of these experiences we have come to stand for.
With their first round of funding, Synthesis seeks to scale its capacity and accessibility, evolve treatment protocols, and develop a platform that services the entire psychedelic ecosystem, including thousands of clinicians and mental health providers who are eager to integrate psychedelic-assisted therapy into their work. Synthesis is uniquely positioned to provide therapists with on-site, experiential training with psilocybin and psychedelic treatment modalities.
Synthesis also plays a role as a research site and partner for the scientific community, including researchers Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris and Dr. Rosalind Watts of Imperial College London, who are also members of the Synthesis Advisory Board. With Synthesis expecting exponential growth of thousands of participants in the next 2 years, researchers’ ability to learn from users outside of clinical trials will be greatly enhanced.
In addition to experiences, training programs and research, the Company plans to leverage technology and research to help the ecosystem of facilitators, clinicians and psychedelic therapy clients integrate the same standards and best practices being developed at Synthesis flagship sites.
Synthesis’ Seed Financing was led by Novamind Ventures, a Toronto-based company making early-stage investments in the world’s leading retreats and clinics offering legal, medically supervised psychedelic experiences.
Yaron Conforti, Chief Executive Officer of Novamind Ventures, will join the Synthesis Board of Directors following the investment and commented: “Synthesis was an early mover, and is now a leader in an emerging and competitive environment for psychedelic clinics and retreats. Their approach blends clinical best practices with ancient traditions, resulting in a scalable model for facilitating safe and effective therapeutic psychedelic experiences. Synthesis centers are the psychedelic clinics of the future. We’re excited to support Synthesis in the next phase of their growth.”
Rachel Aidan, CEO of Synthesis, brings 20+ years of expertise in mental health, complex trauma, and wellness leadership to the company as it enters a new phase of growth and business development during an unprecedented moment for humanity’s collective mental health.
Aidan said: “In our journey thus far, Synthesis has developed a strong reputation in the ecosystem for delivering psilocybin experiences with the highest regard for safety, professionalism and integrity around the depths of transformations available through psychedelics. Building on our successes in experience delivery, Synthesis is enthusiastic about this new capital and our new investment partners to help us expand our offerings. With a stronger emphasis on clinical treatment and education, we will appeal to practitioners seeking psychedelic-centric training, while maintaining the high standards of ethics and transpersonal understanding of these experiences we have come to stand for.”
For more information or to inquire about investment opportunities with Synthesis, please contact Myles Katz: myles@synthesisretreat.com
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About Synthesis
Founded in 2018, Synthesis is a legal, scientist-backed psychedelic wellness, research and education platform outside of Amsterdam. Synthesis is pioneering models for transformative wellness through professional, clinically-inspired psychedelic experiences, providing unprecedented access for people seeking alternative therapies, as well as new modes of study for researchers investigating the effects of psychedelics in a professional setting. Retreat options include 5-day and 3-day experiences, private experiences, as well as specialty programs, such as the quarterly Women’s Leadership Retreat.
Synthesis is advised by a board of leading researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs including Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris and Dr. Rosalind Watts of Imperial College London; Dr. Tim Read; and Tero Isokauppila, founder of FourSigmatic.
For more information, or to set up an Exploration call, visit: www.synthesisretreat.com
