BetterLife Pharma adds psychedelic industry leaders to its senior management team following recent takeover of Transcend Biodynamics

BetterLife Pharma Inc (CSE:BETR) (OTCQB:BETRF) (FRA:NPAU) revealed on Wednesday that Patrick Kroupa and Justin Kirkland, two industry leaders in psychedelic therapeutics, have joined the biotech company's management team following its recent takeover of Transcend Biodynamics LLC. Kroupa will join the Vancouver-based company as Chief Psychedelics Officer, while Kirkland will be the Chief Psychedelics Scientist. “BetterLife welcomes Patrick and Justin to our senior leadership team. Their experience in psychedelics in the fields of health and wellness will be valuable assets for Betterlife, helping solidify our place as leaders in this fast-growing industry,” said BetterLife CEO Dr Ahmad Doroudian in a statement. READ: BetterLife Pharma completes C$10M acquisition of LSD derivative owner Transcend Biodyanmics LLC Kroupa, president of Transcend Biodynamics, has over 20 years of experience working with a wide spectrum of psychedelic compounds to address mental health and drug dependence disorders. According to the company, he brings a “tremendous breadth of experience utilizing cutting-edge molecular advancements” to enhance the positive outcomes of unaddressed patient populations. “Psychedelic medicine offers the single greatest opportunity to positively impact mental health and well-being worldwide,” said Kroupa, “and BetterLife is uniquely positioned to make that happen. When you’re involved with a promising company that is aligned with your core beliefs and aspirations for humanity ... that’s when good things happen." Kirkland, the company’s new Chief Psychedelics Scientist, has spearheaded Transcend Biodynamics and is a chemist with experience in natural products, small molecules, peptide synthesis, analytical chemistry, and drug formulations for improved bioavailability. He has a BS in Agronomy and an MS in Biology, and has attended medical school in Belize at the Central American Health Sciences University. He was recently awarded a US patent for the improved synthesis of the ergoline, 2-bromo-LSD.  “BetterLife believes that the mental health space is ready for transformation, and that innovation and investment will lead to a major disruption in how mental health is treated,” said Kirkland. “I am extremely excited to join the BetterLife team and look forward to the opportunity to continue to educate and advance the global conversation on the promise of psychedelics.” BetterLife Pharma announced on Monday that it had completed the acquisition of psychedelic biotechnology firm Transcend Biodynamics in an all-stock transaction valued at C$10 million. The deal adds BOL-148, Transcend’s LSD derivative, to BetterLife’s drug pipeline. BOL-148 is a non-toxic second-generation LSD-derived molecule that mimics the therapeutic potential of LSD, without the psychedelic effects or hallucinations, the company said. Transcend’s patented process allows for cost-effective manufacturing of BOL-148 without the need to make LSD, making it the only entity with the ability to synthesize the drug without the regulatory hurdles of handling a Schedule 1 controlled substance. BetterLife is developing drug candidates from a broad set of complementary interferon-based technologies which have the potential to engage the immune system to fight virus infections, such as coronavirus (COVID-19) and human papillomavirus, or to directly inhibit tumors to treat specific types of cancer. Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive