Wesana, a Chicago startup led by a former Blackhawks player that's using psychedelics to help people recover from brain injuries, is now a public company.
On Monday, the firm began trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol “WESA.” The public listing is the result of a successful reverse takeover with Canada-based Debut Diamonds Inc., which was first announced in February.
In March, the company raised more than $12 million in advance of the public market debut. Its investors include Ambria Capital, JLS Fund, K2 & Associates and George Steinbrenner IV, the grandson of late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.
Boxing legend Mike Tyson also announced on Twitter yesterday that he's an early investor in the company.
Founded in 2020 by two-time Stanley Cup champion Daniel Carcillo, Wesana has set out to treat traumatic brain injuries with the use of psilocybin, the naturally occurring substance found in magic mushrooms that provides a psychedelic effect. The company was born out of Carcillo's experience using psilocybin to treat his own brain injuries after years of head trauma playing in the NHL. He said psilocybin worked better than any other form of treatment. Wesana is also led by co-founder Chad Bronstein, who's also the co-founder of Fyllo.
The company's first drug pipeline will look to focus on traumatic brain injury-related depression. The company believes it can help a range of brain injury survivors, including athletes, veterans and domestic violence victims, Carcillo previously told Chicago Inno.
