Psychedelic healthcare fund Neo Kuma sees early success amid sector growth

The UK’s first investment fund dedicated solely to psychedelic healthcare, Neo Kuma is reporting that a number of its early investments are returning yields between 180% and 680%, with three of the seven companies in its portfolio planning an IPO later this year.

Founded in 2020 by Clara Burtenshaw and Sean McLintock, Neo Kuma launched the fund in December of last year, deploying over £5 million in companies including ATAI Life Sciences, Bright Minds Biosciences, Beckley Psytech, Small Pharma, Eleusis, Journey Clinical, and Sana Health. 

Neo Kuma invested in Series C and D rounds with ATAI Life Sciences, a platform company that has majority stages in a variety of mental healthcare and biotech companies including Nasdaq listed COMPASS. ATAI has an industry valuation of approximately $2 billion and is at present finalising a $100 million pre-IPO financing round.

With Bright Minds, a biotech dedicated to developing therapeutics for patients with brain diseases, Neo Kuma invested at seed stage, resulting in a 680% ROI with the company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange.

The fund is expecting to complete its fourth close later this summer, having already raised in excess of £10 million. As a sign of strong investor interest, the fund exceeded its targets within the first five months of fundraising.

Neo Kuma’s timing is a direct result of renewed public interest in psychedelic medicine in the area of mental health. As the pandemic has shown us all, perhaps we’re not quite as well off as we thought, and if a magic mushroom, or any other wide variety of psychedelic treatments, is just what the mental health doctor ordered, well, who am I, who are we to pass judgment?

“The key to our strategy has been backing companies which have pharmaceutical backgrounds, are guided by science, and are passionate about solving problems and improving people’s lives,” comments Burtenshaw. “Scientists, investors, and the public are waking up to the extraordinary potential of psychedelics to help treat and manage mental health conditions.”