atai Life Sciences Launches atai Impact, a Philanthropic Program to Harness the Power of Innovative Mental Health Approaches for Positive Social Change
atai Life Sciences (NASDAQ: ATAI),a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced the launch of its new philanthropic program, atai Impact, in line with atai Life Sciences’ vision, to heal mental health disorders so that everyone, everywhere can live a more fulfilled life.
atai Impact has been developed to harness the power of innovative mental health approaches for positive social change, committed to advancing education, expanding access and supporting the wider ecosystem.
Its establishment is based on atai Life Sciences’ position that, while a for-profit model is the swiftest and most robust means of unlocking new modalities for patients in need, this model alone cannot address all aspects of the escalating global mental crisis.
Therefore, atai Life Sciences believes having harmonization among commercial and non-profit entities is the ideal way forward. The initial focus of atai Impact will be on the psychedelic sector, given its emerging potential in tackling the growing mental health crisis.
Supporting and collaborating with nonprofits and institutions that share its vision of healing mental health disorders, atai Impact will operate across three central pillars:
- Education: to help destigmatize mental health, promote better understanding of the potential of psychedelics in mental health care, and foster the next generation of neuro-innovators.
- Access: to support equal access to innovative and effective mental health support, for everyone, everywhere, regardless of geography or demographics.
- Ecosystem: to contribute to the sustainability of diverse stakeholder communities and environments, including indigenous resources.
The launch of atai Impact is a very proud moment for everyone at atai Life Sciences and for me, personally. While we believe a for-profit model is the best way to get new treatments to patients in need, not all aspects of the global mental health crisis can be effectively addressed by this model alone.
Florian Brand, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of atai Life Sciences
“I’ve been moved by the huge volume of support, internally and externally, that we have had in bringing atai Impact to life and by the commitment of so many of our staff, founders and investors who’ve already joined me in contributing a portion of their own company equity to this important program. We are in active discussions with multiple stakeholders towards meaningful initiatives that we believe can help make a real difference to the future of psychedelic medicine and mental health care worldwide.”
The atai Impact program will be initially funded by 1% of the gross proceeds from atai Life Sciences’ June 2021 Initial Public Offering (NASDAQ) and founders’ contributions. In addition, atai Life Sciences has created a Volunteer Paid Time Off Policy, equal to 1% of employees’ time, and is working with the Equity for Impact initiative to encourage employees and investors to donate a portion of their equity to charitable endeavors.
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