Kind of Like the Netflix of Psychedelic Medicine: CEO Kelsey Ramsden on iSTRYM
Twice-named Canada’s Top Female Entrepreneur Kelsey Ramsden is the President and CEO of Mind Cure Health Inc (CSE: MCUR), a psychedelic company whose narrative is promoting mental wealth and not just simply mental health. Ramsden sat down with us at The Dales Report for an interview, and she discussed not only what Mind Cure is doing now and what the company will be doing in the next year, but also how psychedelic therapy transformed her life.
Here’s some highlights from the interview:
On iSTRYM, and ATMA…
Like many of its competitors, Mind Cure is diversifying, making sure that their R&D – which is long-term payoff – is balanced by short and near-term projects. One of their near-term projects, Ramsden says, is a technology platform that they believe will become the backbone of their deployment of psychedelics, iSTRYM.
iSTRYM is Mind Cure’s digital therapeutic tool, designed to provide data regarding patient care, procedures, protocols, and other resources for therapists, clinicians, and patients. Combined with more traditional therapy, iSTRYM will help build a custom psychedelic treatment protocol that’s AI-backed, helping patients integrate post-treatment as they “orient back into life, returning to the norm” and also helping them make the most of their experience.
In January, Mind Cure announced the signing of a letter of intent for strategic investment and commercial cooperation with ATMA Journey Centers Inc (“ATMA”), Canada’s first commercial treatment center providing psychedelic-assisted therapy. Ramsden says that driving revenue for Mind Cure will be hopefully a double-revenue model involving both money from the running of the clinics as well as the deployment of the technology into these clinics. That ATMA has plans to scale up globally figures big in these plans.
On Ibogaine and synthetics in a world looking for natural products…
Mind Cure is investigating Ibogaine’s vast potential. Ramsden says the psychedelic compound Ibogaine is an “amazingly powerful medicine,” which may be useful in treating addiction, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. But she was also quick to point out that the Iboga plant itself is already threatened, which is why Mind Cure is working on producing a synthetic supply of Ibogaine for treatment and clinical trials.
Ramsden says that there are “purists” who may prefer natural products, and she understands the allure of natural and organic. However she also says, “But if I want consistency and assurance, which I tend to want when we’re talking about my brain, I’m going with the synthetic thing. And when we’re doing research, it has to be consistent otherwise the science isn’t reliable.” She also points out that with many psychedelic-producing plants either being endangered or taking enormous amounts of time to cultivate, synthetics are a better choice for the mindful.
Ramsden on the psychedelic experience and changing healthcare…
Ramsden believes that psychedelics can’t fail to change healthcare. When positive stories about psychedelic therapy like her own begin to become more commonplace, “the data will move the science and the stories will begin to move the culture.”
