Antonio Gracias and Steve Jurvetson made a fortune from their bets on SpaceX when it was still a risky space startup. That isn’t the only long-shot wager the billionaires have placed.
Gracias and Jurvetson, who are directors at SpaceX and allies of Chief Executive Elon Musk, have spent millions of dollars on philanthropic efforts to mainstream psychedelic drugs, including MDMA, the drug commonly known as ecstasy and molly.
Last year, Gracias cut a $25 million check from his family foundation to help recapitalize the pharmaceutical company Lykos Therapeutics, after federal regulators rejected its application for MDMA in conjunction with therapy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, sending the company into a financial tailspin. Lykos had drawn criticism for missing serious side effects in some study subjects, including suicidal thoughts.
When Gracias took over, he renamed the company Resilient Pharmaceuticals and moved its headquarters to Chicago, which is also home to his investment firm Valor Equity Partners. Resilient is in talks to raise new funding and recently resubmitted a new drug application for MDMA to the Food and Drug Administration, people briefed on the plans said.
Gracias has also endowed a Harvard program with a $16 million donation to fund a professorship and research on psychedelics in society and culture.
Jurvetson and his wife, Genevieve Jurvetson, have been some of the most high-profile supporters of psychedelic medicine. She is a board member of a nonprofit dedicated to advancing psychedelic philanthropy, and the couple previously donated from their family foundation to support the Lykos drug trials.
Musk’s brother, Kimbal, who is a Tesla director, and his wife, Christiana Musk, have also funded research, including an academic fellowship to understand the effects of psychedelics in society.
Philanthropists looking to expand access to psychedelics have zeroed in on MDMA due to its promise in studies. MDMA, which remains illegal at the federal level, induces euphoria and sociability by increasing levels of neurotransmitters including serotonin and dopamine. Some researchers believe that when taken in a therapeutic setting, it can help patients open up and tolerate revisiting past traumatic events.
But the use of MDMA in therapy is controversial because of its popularity as a recreational drug, and the potential for abuse. Critics also have been concerned about the methodology of drug trials and whether the science supports the high hopes for the treatments.
Elon Musk, who has said he was prescribed ketamine to treat depression, has previously spoken of the benefits of psychedelics, including MDMA. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2024 that Antonio Gracias and Steve Jurvetson had consumed drugs with the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, along with Kimbal Musk.
Other high-profile donors supporting research into psychedelics include David Bronner, CEO of the soap maker Dr. Bronner’s, New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and his wife, Alexandra Cohen, and Joby Pritzker, a member of the wealthy Pritzker family that founded Hyatt Hotels.
Support in Washington
President Trump in April signed an executive order to speed up the approval process for psychedelics to weeks, instead of years, for treating illnesses like PTSD and depression. He credited podcaster Joe Rogan for bringing his attention to psychedelics like the root ibogaine, which has been touted as an anti-addiction treatment.
At the event, Trump highlighted the drugs’ “life-changing potential for those suffering from severe mental illness and depression, including our cherished veterans.” An FDA hearing is scheduled for later this month on the potential therapeutic uses of psychedelics.
Steve and Genevieve Jurvetson, a board member of the Psychedelic Science Funders Collaborative, attended the president’s April signing ceremony at the White House.
“After losing a family member to opioid addiction, I dedicated myself to this work because I don’t want other families to endure the same heartbreak,” she said.
Research into psychedelics was largely banned around 1970 and the substances remained off limits for researchers until the 1990s, when the FDA approved their use in some studies. More well-heeled investors funding research and broader interest from pharmaceutical companies over the last decade have led to better data on how the drugs work in the human body.
“Now we’re starting to see high-quality research studies,” said Gerard Sanacora, director of the Yale Depression Research Program, whose research supported the FDA’s approval of a ketamine nasal spray to treat depression.
New promise
The Lykos takeover idea was broached with Gracias during a dawn rave at the Burning Man festival in 2024: “I asked Antonio to be a white knight and take it over,” said Rick Doblin, a longtime psychedelics advocate and founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, the nonprofit that created Lykos.
Renamed as Resilient, the pharmaceuticals company has spent the past year working on getting FDA approval and solving problems that regulators had outlined in its first application.
Sanacora, the Yale researcher, said that current research shows clear benefits to psychedelics including MDMA for people with PTSD and depression, but that there can be downsides.
Drug trials involving conventional double-blind studies are a particular challenge with psychedelics. Since the drugs change how patients think and experience the world, it can be obvious to both the patient and the clinician when the patient has taken the drug instead of a placebo, which can influence the data.
“It is very exciting but there still are some hurdles,” he said.
For its new application, Resilient conducted a third-party audit of its prior trials to compile new data on adverse events, which had been left out of its earlier application, according to people close to the company. It also ran additional studies, including a Phase 1 trial launched in April to evaluate the safety of MDMA on healthy adults.
Supporters of psychedelics are putting hope in companies like Resilient getting the green light from regulators.
“A year from now, I hope we’ll have multiple FDA-approved psychedelic therapies so patients can safely access treatment under the care of trained medical professionals,” Genevieve Jurvetson said.
Write to Becky Peterson at becky.peterson@wsj.com