Aphrodite Health, a new biotech company in the rapidly emerging multibillion dollar psychedelic medicine sector, launches today. Founded by women, and focused on addressing women’s mental and physical health with psychedelic enhanced treatments, the company has developed a two pronged approach, with a long term drug discovery program to bring an FDA approved drug to market.
Aphrodite Health is a US-based psychedelic biotech company introducing psychedelic medicines to address women’s mental and physical health challenges overlooked by modern medicine. Launched by a team of all-female founders in 2021, the brand will launch a low-dose, targeted medicine to disrupt the existing antidepressant market used to treat hormone-related mood disorders in menopause, an overlooked health condition that will be impacting a billion women globally by 2025.
Aphrodite Health will be helmed by CEO and co-founder Tesla La Touche, who brings 20 years experience in executive roles working with multinational, multibillion dollar firms in healthcare. As Canada’s first clinically published, Afro Indigenous market access and commercialization specialist in the surgical, biopharmaceutical and advanced, clinical technologies sector, La Touche has made significant achievements advancing healthcare and creating social impact. “The time is now for the psychedelic medicine industry to differentiate itself with innovation in research study design that addresses value based outcomes, population health and socio-health economics. Aphrodite Health has a clear mission to elevate women’s health and autonomy,” said La Touche.
The company’s all-female founding team and C-Suite also comprises powerhouse executives including Chief of Staff Vestaen Balbuena, who is also a Senior Associate of funding backers The Conscious Fund. Balbuena states, “In venture capital today, less than 5% of founding teams include diverse founders. It’s important that we level the playing field so fifty percent of our portfolio includes underrepresented entrepreneurial teams. With this in mind, I am delighted to join Aphrodite Health as a co-founder and proud to be part of the team that is blazing a new trail in supporting women’s healthcare needs.”
Cannabis and psychedelics industry pioneer Olivia Mannix of Cannabrand also joins the team as co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer: “Helping others has always been the driving force behind the work that I do. I’m thrilled to bring my extensive experience in highly regulated markets to the Aphrodite Health team and to join this leading group of female innovators focused on women’s health issues.”
COO and co-founder Victoria Armstrong, a veteran founder of multiple start-up tech companies, comments, “There is no better team to change women’s health treatments than this incredible group of accomplished women and it’s wonderful to focus on something so close to my heart.”
