Israeli startup MSICS Pharma raises $3.6M for psilocybin-based mental health treatments

What's the deal? MSICS PharmaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an Israeli startup developing medical-grade technology to grow and produce psilocybin — the active compound in psychedelic mushrooms — has raised $3.6 million. The company is advancing clinical trials targeting PTSD, depression, and OCD.

MSICS Pharma was founded by brothers Roei Zerahia, chief executive officer, and Omer Zerahia, chief business officer. The pair previously led Canndoc, a medical cannabis company now traded on Nasdaq with over 250 million NIS in annual revenue.

Why now? Psilocybin is experiencing what some describe as a regulatory renaissance, similar to the one that opened the door for medical cannabis. Growing clinical evidence supports the compound's potential in treating severe mental health conditions that respond poorly to conventional therapies.

The founders' track record in navigating the medical cannabis regulatory path gives them a playbook for a substance following a similar trajectory.

What could go wrong? Psychedelic therapies face significant regulatory hurdles. Psilocybin remains a controlled substance in most jurisdictions, and clinical trials must clear high bars before any commercial product reaches patients. The path from early-stage funding to approved treatment is long, expensive, and uncertain.

The signal: MSICS Pharma's $3.6 million raise is a modest sum, but it underscores a broader trend of early-stage capital flowing into psychedelic medicine — a sector that mirrors the trajectory medical cannabis followed a decade ago. The founders' experience scaling Canndoc from startup to a Nasdaq-listed company with over 250 million NIS in annual revenue is a rare operational credential in a space where most ventures are still pre-clinical and unproven.

Read more: calcalistech.com