TORONTO, April 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Field Trip Psychedelics Inc. (“Field Trip” or the “Company“), the world’s first mental wellness company focused exclusively on psychedelics and psychedelic-enhanced psychotherapy, today announced the creation of Field Trip Discovery, the company’s newly formed drug development division.
Appointment of Dr. Nathan Bryson, Chief Science Officer
Field Trip Discovery will be led by Dr. Nathan Bryson, Field Trip’s recently hired Chief Science Officer. Dr. Bryson, who holds his PhD in Chemistry and Postdoctoral Associate Degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has three decades of hands-on research and development experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries where he has overseen innovation, clinical development, regulatory, quality, global supply chain and medical affairs. Prior to joining Field Trip, Dr. Bryson was the Chief Science Officer for Acerus Pharmaceuticals, a Canadian pharmaceutical company with a portfolio of sexual and reproductive health prescription products. Before Acerus, Dr. Bryson previously served as Chief Science Officer at Cynapsus Therapeutics, a pharma-biotech company that was acquired by Sunovion Pharma, and at Cannasat Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company developing novel cannabinoid therapeutics of THC and CBD.
Appointment of Dieter Weinand and Helen Boudreau to Board of Directors
The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Dieter Weinand and Helen Boudreau to the Board of the Directors, who along with Dr. Michael Ehlers, the Company’s Senior Strategy Advisor, will be supporting Dr. Bryson in the strategic direction of Field Trip Discovery.
Mr. Weinand is the former President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Bayer Pharmaceuticals, AG and has 30 years of experience in senior executive roles with a number of pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi, Otzuka and Pfizer. He has a demonstrated ability to recognize opportunity, create a vision and strategy, and mobilize organizations behind successful execution. Mr. Weinand has launched and marketed some of the industry’s most successful products, including Lipitor, Neurontin, Abilify, and Cipro.
Ms. Boudreau joins the Company’s Board of Directors after most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute. Prior to that role, Ms. Boudreau served as CFO for biotech companies Proteostasis Therapeutics and FORMA Therapeutics. Previously, Ms. Boudreau spent 16 years at Novartis and Pfizer, serving in strategy and senior finance roles, including Global CFO, Oncology business unit, CFO US Corporate, VP Investor Relations, VP Finance, Customer Business Unit and Commercial Operations, and VP Finance Global R&D. She has contributed to successful product launches, driven sales growth and increased profitability, integrated mergers & acquisitions, and provided leadership across Finance, IT, HR, Strategic Sourcing, Facilities, and Innovation, Quality and Process improvement.
“One of our core priorities at Field Trip is to advance the science and understanding of psychedelic compounds through evidence-based research,” said Ronan Levy, Executive Chairman of Field Trip Psychedelics. “And with the COVID-19 pandemic likely to create one of the greatest mental health challenges the world has ever seen, the need to legitimize the use of these molecules is more urgent than ever. The creation of Field Discovery led by Dr. Bryson, and supported by the many years of operational and executive experience of Dieter and Helen, in conjunction with the technical and scientific knowledge of Mike Ehlers, will help us do just that.”
“The impressive gains in the understanding of brain function, combined with the maturation and development of legitimate research in the field, is demonstrating incredible promise for therapeutic use of psychedelic molecules like psilocybin and MDMA,” commented Dr. Bryson. “I’m excited to join the Field Trip team. Their commitment to scientific and research excellence in psychedelics, combined with its multidisciplinary structure creates numerous synergies and a dynamic environment, which will greatly advance the understanding and applications of psychedelics and their therapeutic potential. And the need for these advances is more important than ever right now.”
About Field Trip Psychedelics Inc.
Field Trip is the world’s first mental wellness company at the forefront of the scientific re-emergence of psychedelics and psychedelic-enhanced therapies. With Field Trip Health centres opening across North America, and drug development and advanced research on plant-based psychedelics through Field Trip Discovery, we help people to heal and heighten engagement with the world.
Learn more at https://fieldtriphealth.com and https://fieldtripdiscovery.com
SOURCE Field Trip Psychedelics Inc.