NEW YORK & LONDON & BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ATAI Life Sciences, the global biotech platform dedicated to curing mental health disorders, has completed its series B financing round of $43 million (EUR 38 million).
Founded in 2018 by Christian Angermayer, Lars Wilde and Florian Brand, ATAI takes a decentralized and big data platform approach to drug development - leveraging expertise, access to talent, financial resources and technology, thereby accelerating the pace at which compounds move through early stage clinical trials. ATAI focuses on developing paradigm-shifting and formerly stigmatized compounds with prior evidence for efficacy and safety in humans.
The new funds raised will be used for further investment in ATAI’s platform technology, to develop the existing drug pipeline, and to acquire additional compounds. The Series B round was led by Michael Auerbach’s New York-based Subversive Capital. It was subscribed by both new and existing investors, including Apeiron Investment Group, Bail Capital, and Efrem Kamen, founder of Pura Vida Investments.
ATAI’s initial focus is on developing solutions for the more than 300 million people who suffer from depression, a significant unmet medical need. In January, ATAI acquired Perception Neuroscience and is now developing an arketamine therapy for neuropsychiatric diseases. ATAI is also the largest investor in COMPASS Pathways, which is developing psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression and has received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the FDA. In addition to drug compounds, the ATAI portfolio includes Innoplexus which delivers big data and AI solutions to big pharma and biotech companies and provides the technology ATAI will use to power its in-house drug discovery and development.
“Mental illnesses such as depression are debilitating for so many people. And 100 million patients have treatment-resistant depression and don’t respond to existing medicines,” said Florian Brand, CEO and Co-Founder of ATAI. “The companies on our platform are developing extremely promising candidates to treat mental health disorders and bring a much-needed paradigm shift.”
Michael Auerbach, Partner, Subversive Capital, said “It is such a privilege to be investing in a company that’s poised to make significant medical breakthroughs and find treatments that could help so many people.”
Christian Angermayer, Founder of ATAI, said “Our lean setup allows us to spread knowledge, resource and best practice across our platform, ensuring we can discover and develop compounds more efficiently and effectively. I am very proud that we have been able to assemble such a world-class group of leading researchers, computer scientists, entrepreneurs and investors for our mission to enable people to live healthier and happier lives.”
About ATAI Life Sciences
ATAI Life Sciences AG is a global biotech platform and company builder. Based in Berlin, London and New York, our vision is to cure mental health disorders, enabling people to live healthier and happier lives. www.atai.life
ATAI was founded by Christian Angermayer, Lars Wilde and Florian Brand, and was launched with initial seed backing totalling $12.6 million (EUR 11.2 million) from Apeiron Investment Group (Christian Angermayer’s family office), German investor HCS, Galaxy Financial (the family office of Mike Novogratz), and Ekaterina Malievskaia and George Goldsmith (Co-Founders of COMPASS Pathways). In September 2018, ATAI completed a Series A financing round in the amount of $24.4 million (EUR 21.6 million).