Looking for an alternative mental health treatment experience? Nue Life may have the answer.
The Miami startup launched its digital at-home psychedelic-assisted therapy platform Monday only months after raising $3.3 million in seed funding for the venture.
"Nue Life was founded on the belief that the current paradigm around mental health care is broken," said co-founder and CEO Juan Pablo Cappello, a longtime Miami tech entrepreneur who also co-founded the LAB Miami and Miami Angels. "The current model is incentivized to focus on treating and masking symptoms, rather than addressing the root cause of mental health issues, including depression, PTSD, and anxiety."
Along with Cappello, Nue Life's founding team includes co-founder Christina Getty, Chief Technology Officer Demian Bellumio, Chief Brand Officer Katie Kiernan and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kazi Hassan. The venture is backed by $6 million in venture capital, with investors that include Shutterstock founder Jon Oringer, Atomic founder and managing partner Jack Abraham and tech investor and former Uber executive Shervin Pishevar.
The startup's at-home ketamine therapy service is an alternative to prescription drugs like antidepressants, currently prescribed to about one in 10 Americans over the age of 12. Following an evaluation and medical consultation with a physician, Nue Life patients can receive their first shipment of ketamine directly to their home.
The service is supported by the company's app, which includes a proprietary music therapy system and that guides patients through their experience. Nue Life's telemedicine team is also available to assist patients every step of the way.
Medical research suggests mind-altering drugs such as ketamine, psilocybin (the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms") and MDMA could be effective treatments for conditions like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in conjunction with therapy. Nue Life reports more than half of its patients with moderate to severe depression experienced a 50% reduction in symptoms after three ketamine therapy sessions. After six sessions, 64% of its patients reported fewer symptoms.
In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a ketamine nasal spray for patients with major depressive disorder after determining the treatment safe and effective. The agency also granted at least two breakthrough therapy designations for psilocybin-based drugs for the treatment of acute depression, a process that expedites those drugs' development and review.
However, the long-term impacts of using substances like psilocybin, ketamine and MDMA as part of a mental health treatment plan are still unknown.
Despite those challenges, investors already see potential for the psychedelic health care market. Cappello said Nue Life's at-home therapies are more cost-effective than traditional in-person therapy, especially for people who are not insured. The company offers a one-month therapy program for $1,250 – a package that includes six ketamine experiences, health coaching, four therapy sessions and telemedicine care supervised by a clinician – and a four-month program for $2,750.
"[Our founding team] saw there was a way to better improve patient outcomes by leveraging emerging technologies to provide these cutting edge treatments to patients in the easiest possible way," Cappello said.
Nue Life has about 35 employees and contractors, with plans to grow as the platform expands nationally. The company's at-home ketamine treatment is currently available to patients in Florida, Texas, California, Washington and Colorado.
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