Beckley Psytech, the psychedelic medicine company, has appointed Joanna Neill, Professor of Psychopharmacology at the University of Manchester, and Dr Mike Emanuel, former Vice President of Global Clinical Operations at Johnson & Johnson, to its Scientific Advisory Board.
As members of the Scientific Advisory Board, Neill and Emanuel will channel their expertise to guide and advise Beckley Psytech on its mission to develop a pipeline of psychedelic drugs into licensed pharmaceutical medicines for treating debilitating psychiatric and neurological diseases.
Neill is Professor of Psychopharmacology at the University of Manchester (Division of Pharmacy & Optometry). She is Chair of the Medical Psychedelics Working Group for Drug Science, a scientific advisor for Heroic Hearts UK and the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group. She is also co-founder of b-neuro, a University based Contract Research Organisation developing new treatments for mental illness through animal models.
Dr Emanuel brings extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry including a long career at Johnson & Johnson, where he was vice president of global clinical operations for EMEA, leading a team of over 400 clinical research professionals operating in 27 countries. He has also held roles including as a board member of Janssen-Cilag International and as an associate director of the National Institute for Health Research’s Clinical Research Network.
Beckley Psytech’s Scientific Advisory Board comprises a panel of the world’s leading psychedelic and psychiatric researchers, policy experts and drug development specialists, including:
· Professor Guy Goodwin, Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Psychiatry, The University of Oxford
· Dr Robin L. Carhart-Harris PhD, Director of the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London
· Professor Matthew W. Johnson PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
· Frederick Reinholdt MA, Senior Therapist in Psychedelics at The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London
· Lady Amanda Feilding, Beckley Psytech co-founder, Beckley Foundation founder and chair of the Scientific Advisory Board
Commenting on her appointment, Professor Joanna Neill, University of Manchester, says: “Beckley Psytech is doing vital work to deliver psychedelic medicines with transformative potential for treating mental health disorders. I am very excited to be supporting the company’s mission and will use my experience to advise the team as it pioneers these novel approaches for mainstream medical practice. If successful, the company will create fully licensed medicines to improve the lives of patients suffering from mental health conditions worldwide.”
Dr Mike Emanuel, says: “This is a fascinating area of research and Beckley Psytech have a brilliant team of drug developers who I know well and have worked with in the past. I’m looking forward to helping with the successful delivery and rollout of medicines which can change the face of mental health treatment. The potential for psychedelic drugs to improve health outcomes for patients is huge and I am excited to be working with the company to capitalise on this opportunity.”
Full biographies for the members of the Beckley Psytech Scientific Advisory Board can be found here.
