INNOVATORS VS COVID 19

We Discover, Develop, and Deploy Psychedelic-inspired Medicines to Alleviate Suffering and Improve Health, says JR Rahn, MindMed’s Co-founder and Co-CEO

Published

3 years ago

08/04/2020

Kokou Adzo

First of all, how are you and your Family doing in these COVID-19 Times?

JR Rahn: Thanks for asking. We are doing well. But this is obviously a hard time for everyone. We are more focused than ever thinking about how the mental health medicines our company is researching can play a role in the recovery effort.

Tell us about you, your Career, how you Founded or Joined MindMed

JR Rahn: I’m an entrepreneur at heart and am constantly thinking about how to be innovative or to question the status quo. However, major technological innovations can also make people uneasy and I started noticing how technology had a major impact on mental health. As someone who has continuously been disappointed by current mental health treatment options, I wanted to explore new treatment methods. This led me to psychedelics.

How does MindMed Innovate?

JR Rahn: MindMed uses once stigmatized and misunderstood compounds as therapies. We discover, develop, and deploy psychedelic inspired medicines to alleviate suffering and improve health.

How the Coronavirus Pandemic affects your Business, and how are you Coping?

JR Rahn: Fortunately, we have always successfully operated as a remote company. Our ongoing clinical trials have not been delayed or changed due to safety processes that were put in place at the trial sites. The coronavirus bestows a critical responsibility onto the MindMed team. We view mental health with paramount importance and realize the impending fallout from job loss may have a far bigger impact on society than the virus itself. MindMed’s responsibility is to work harder than ever in pursuit of our mission to cure mental health through psychedelics.

Did you have to make Difficult Choices, and what are the Lessons Learned?

JR Rahn: Difficult choices are a part of building a world-class organization. We have learned how vital technology is to our business. Communication platforms and staying ahead of the digital health curve have been essential. Our diverse and experienced team have performed tremendously almost entirely on Zoom. I think the pandemic is going to change the way companies and teams operate in the future. The physical address will no longer be the unifying factor to a company and I think this will only strengthen the need to be a mission-driven organization like MindMed if you want to recruit top global talent.

How do you Deal with Stress, and Anxiety? How do you Project yourself and MindMed in the Future?

JR Rahn: I do my best to stay present Minded with a focus on the issues MindMed has the chance to solve today. While it’s important to take a forward-looking view, MindMed works hard on controlling what it can in the present. We remain disciplined in our mission to get our medications into the hands of those in desperate need. The only way to do this is through our on-going clinical trials for anxiety, addiction, adult ADHD, and cluster headaches.

Who are your Competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the Game?

JR Rahn: In any emerging industry, it’s important to work as a collective. If you add the stigma associated with psychedelics and mental health to that picture, teamwork becomes even more vital. With that said, we want to work alongside companies like ATAI Life Sciences or COMPASS Pathways to advance psychedelics as medicines. Our end goal is the same; to cure mental health.