Chris Witowski, PhDCo Founder

United States - Tampa, Florida

Dr. Witowski is an accomplished chemist with 15 years of drug discovery experience with 8+ years in leadership roles for CNS product development. He is a named inventor on 10+ patents and his inventions have led to benefits for patients and a successful exit in a $1.5B start-up. He has authored many publications including the Most Read Publication in 2017 which has amassed 90,000+ views, a record for the American Chemical Society.

As an early employee of AltMed (now Verano Holdings) Dr. Witowski helped build vertically-integrated cannabis operations with management of CNS patent portfolio, product development, commercialization, and $100+ million product manufacturing.

In 2019 Dr. Witowski co-founded Psilera, a leading biotechnology company specializing in the development of next-generation serotonergic drugs to target psychiatric, addiction, and neurodegenerative disorders. Psilera’s expansive drug library of new chemical entities (NCEs) were selected by a computer-aided AI/ML drug design platform to identify NCEs with targeted benefits and fewer side effects. Psilera leverages a world-class scientific and pharmaceutical team to repurpose psychedelic natural products into effective and accessible patient-centric treatments.

The future of human health will become more personalized which is further evidenced by the reemergence of cannabis and psychedelic therapies. I have personally witnessed the devastating effects of Alzheimer's disease and depression first-hand and have made the discovery of therapeutics to improve mental health my life’s mission.