Bright Minds Bio is a biotechnology company founded by veteran drug hunters that's dedicated to building the next generation of psychedelics to treat mental health disorders. In particular, the company is focused on depression and cluster headaches.

The company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Psilocybin Labs, owns a research and development facility staffed with a multidisciplinary team of industry experts working to optimize the commercial cultivation process, improve the quality and yield of various strains of psychoactive mushrooms, and understand how the human body interacts with these compounds to create tailored effect profiles.

Ian MacDonald
Founder

Ian is responsible for developing the overall strategic vision as well as adroitly assembling the intellectual and capital resources to bring scientific innovations to market. Prior to Bright Minds, he served on the management team at Avnel Gold – a TSX-listed gold mining, exploration, and development company with operations in Southwestern Mali in West Africa. In that capacity, McDonald developed and implemented the corporate strategy as it relates to M&A and capital markets resulting in a $160 million sale to Endeavor Mining within one year.

Alex Vasilkevich

Mr. Vasilkevich is a chemist trained at Belarusian State Technological University and the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry (NASB).

Gideon Shapiro, Ph.D.

Dr. Shapiro spent the last several years as the Chief Science Officer at Rugen Therapeutics, a leading drug discovery company backed by Allergan and Fidelity Biosciences, with a therapeutic goal to correct synaptic dysfunction using a form of ketamine.

Giulio Vistoli, Ph.D.

Giulio Vistoli, Ph.D. is a Professor in Medicinal chemistry at the University of Milan. He brings a specialized skill set to Bright Minds which allows the company to predict the effectiveness of compounds through cutting edge computer modeling techniques resulting in an efficient discovery process.

Alan P. Kozikowski, Ph.D.

Dr. Alan Kozikowski is a highly accomplished drug designer who brings a wealth of experience and relationships to Bright Minds.

Jianmin Duan, Ph.D.

Dr. Jianmin Duan is educated at Shandong Normal University and Dalhousie University. Dr Duan has 25+ years of experience in pharmaceutical R&D including senior roles at the world’s largest private pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim.