Technically, this happened last week, but we wanted to highlight this news…

Last week, Compass Pathways announced a $285 million private placement. This is not trivial given how scarce capital has become. This is particularly reassuring for investors, especially when you consider who participated:

• Vivo Capital - a healthcare-focused firm that’s currently making investments into promising private healthcare companies from both its $1.4 billion Vivo Capital Fund IX and $635 million Vivo Opportunity Fund.
  
  
• RA Capital - a multi-stage investment manager dedicated to company formation and evidence-based investing in healthcare and life science companies that develop drugs, medical devices, diagnostics, services, and research tools. RA has $9.65 billion in assets under management.
  
  
• Paradigm BioCapital Advisors - A biotech fund with $10.06 trillion in assets under management. That’s trillion - with a “T.”

Other participants include: Soleus Capital, Armistice Capital, Logos Capital, PFM Health Sciences and Laurion Capital Management. Here’s more: https://compasspathways.com/compass-pathways-announces-up-to-285-million-private-placement-financing-joined-by-leading-healthcare-investors-2/

Red Light Holland's psilocybin microdosing capsules successfully completed an extensive 8-week stability test conducted by CCREST Laboratories. The finalized Certificate of Analysis indicates Red Light Holland's truffles meet initial requirements for naturally-occurring medical-grade microdosing capsules, which NUBU Pharmaceuticals aims to distribute in Australia and New Zealand. Check it out: https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/175639/Red-Light-Hollands-Psilocybin-Microdosing-Homogenized-Capsules-Receive-Finalized-Certificate-of-Analysis-by-CCREST-Laboratories

A new report entitled "Co-use of MDMA with psilocybin/LSD may buffer against challenging experiences and enhance positive experiences," was published in nature.com.

Psilocybin/LSD experiences can range from being profoundly positive to overwhelmingly challenging. Anecdotal reports indicate that individuals sometimes co-use MDMA to buffer against challenging experiences and enhance positive experiences associated with psilocybin/LSD.

To date, only a single study has examined the association between co-use of MDMA and psilocybin/LSD and acute subjective drug effects. Therefore, in a convenience sample, this latest study examined whether co-use of MDMA with psilocybin/LSD is associated with less challenging experiences and higher positive experiences.  Here’s what researchers found: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-40856-5

Did you know that Phil Jackson, the basketball head coach with the most titles and highest winning percentage in NBA history, took LSD in 1973? According to Jackson, that experience helped him see basketball in a new way that boosted his coaching performance. He said it gave him a new love for the sport and a deeper appreciation of team play. Check it out: http://popwiki.net/popwiki/index.php?title=Philip_Jackson