#3: Josh Hardman - Tracking the Psychedelic Business Landscape

Today I am speaking with Josh Hardman.

Josh is the founder and Editor of Psychedelic Alpha, the preeminent business and policy data resource for the psychedelic industry.

I first met Josh in 2020 when this whole domain of psychedelic business and investment was really taking off. Those were strange times—this was the peak of covid lockdowns, the lead up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. You might call it a pivotal mental state for society.

All the while, we were seeing a massive influx of capital into dozens of psychedelic startups—many of which no longer exist—several of the most prestigious universities were announcing psychedelic research programs, and many local and state policy reform efforts were launched.

All throughout, Josh and his team at Psychedelic Alpha were busy building publicly available databases, including company profiles and drug development, policy, and patent trackers to help make sense of this craziness.

Fast forward to 2023, Josh and I sat down in Denver during the Psychedelic Science 2023 conference for a conversation about the field, where it’s been, and where it’s heading.

In this conversation, Josh and I discuss:

* His background and the Psychedelic Alpha origin story;

* His initial shock at seeing psychedelics on the commercialization pathway;

* The “Wild West” of the 2020 psychedelic business environment;

* The challenges to payor reimbursement for psychedelics;

* The FDA approval process; and

* The shifting Overton window.

Listen to the episode on Substack, Spotify, Google, or Apple.

Credits:

* Hosted by Zach Haigney 

* Produced by Zach Haigney, Erin Greenhouse, and Katelin Jabbari

* Find us at thetripreport.com

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* Theme music by MANCHO Sounds, Mixed and Mastered by Rollin Weary