This week’s Psychedelic Titan is Justin Hanka, Non-Executive Director of MindBio Therapeutics. MindBio Therapeutics is pioneering clinical research into the microdosing of psychedelic medicines.
What’s this article series about? Psychedelic Titans is a get-to-know-you-style blog series interviewing some of the psychedelic industry’s most influential and impactful individuals.
When did you first become involved in the psychedelic industry and why?
I am an Australian-based investment banker and venture founder of MindBio Therapeutics. In our profession, we are always looking for ways to incubate and finance concepts that are novel and groundbreaking and have the potential to change the world in some way with new technology or industry models. My business partner and I saw what was happening with psychedelics and it resonated with us because of the potential positive impact on the global mental health crisis. We started to think of the treatment models and how we might get involved. We landed on microdosing of psychedelics and sourced the world’s leading scientists in the field to partner with and work with us. Microdosing psychedelics we believe have the greatest potential to integrate with existing medical frameworks and current models of primary medical care. When microdoses are used, the treatment is sub-perceptual and the patient can take the drug like any other anti-depressant and get on with their daily life. Our scientists are conducting phase 1 trials microdosing LSD to treat depression and have approvals for phase 2 trials microdosing LSD in late-stage cancer patients to treat end of life distress, depression, and anxiety. These are rigorous and extensive clinical trials and we are excited by the hope it brings to people suffering from these conditions.
Do your parents/family members know what you’re doing?
I have been overwhelmed with the support we have received from family, friends, and colleagues. Microdosing of psychedelics shows potential to treat a variety of mental health conditions without the side effect profile of traditional medicines and the prospect of new medicine options being available in the near future is very appealing to people.
Have you had an experience with mental health/chronic pain?
We see mental health issues around us every day with family and friends and the impact we see on the community is profound.
What’s your vision of the industry in 20 years?
I see a progressive treatment model using psychedelics that has integrated into our medical system with many new drugs and assisted therapies for mental health conditions. MindBio Therapeutics has an interest in microdosing psychedelics and adjacent technology development that will provide novel pathways for monitoring patient mood status and feedback systems to clinicians to ensure that these medicines are being taken safely in the community.
What are your biggest worries for the industry?
We need to produce robust clinical data which is why MindBio Therapeutics is conducting some of the most rigorous and extensive clinical trials in the world related to microdosing of psychedelics. We believe the data should drive decision-making, treatment models, and regulatory reform.
Who are your heroes?
The heroes in our work are the scientists and researchers pioneering microdosing and that work is led by our lead scientist Suresh Muthukumaraswamy, a Ph.D. and Associate Professor of Psychopharmacology with expertise in brain imaging and psychedelic research.
If you could create a psychedelic to do anything you wanted, what would it do?
Ideally, we want psychedelics to provide relief to patients suffering from debilitating conditions, where current treatments have not worked.
We’d like to thank Justin for being a part of the Psychedelic Titans series. Stay tuned for more profiles on leaders in the psychedelic industry.
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