Billionaire Wants to Combat Depression with Psychedelic Therapy
Institute Funded by American Prepares Largest Clinical Trial with Psilocybin, a Compound from 'Magic' Mushrooms
Visionary: the cliché often applied to entrepreneurs finds its most literal expression in Bill Linton. The white-haired gentleman in jeans, a white shirt, and a navy blue blazer who takes off his shoes to enter the therapeutic wing of the Usona Institute would pass for an ordinary person, were it not for the visions that made him a protagonist in the current psychedelic renaissance.
Linton founded Promega in 1978, a company with 2,100 employees that earns $750 million annually (R$ 4.2 billion) from supplies for biomedical laboratories, such as enzymes. He personally funded the construction of the institute in Madison, Wisconsin, combining spa-like infrastructure with advanced consciousness-altering laboratories, with financial support from nine foundations and donor families.
Usona is leading the largest ongoing clinical trial to treat depression with psilocybin, a psychoactive compound from "magic" mushrooms. A phase 3 study will compare results from 240 volunteers treated with two doses of the substance (5 mg and 25 mg) or with a placebo, across six U.S. states, and will follow them for 12 months.