Marco Algorta, 43, was born in São Paulo, studied here and in France, worked at a cannabis club in Madrid, owned the bar Tres Perros in Montevideo, obtained the first Uruguayan license to export medical cannabis with a high THC content and sold the company Cannapur to Canadian Khiron. Now he sits in Brazil as a psychedelic entrepreneur.
His new venture, Bienstar Welness Corp., announced on Tuesday (29) the first of a series of partnerships with Brazilian doctors to build a network of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. For starters, with ibogaine and ketamine, which have legal use in the country.
The pioneering agreement was made with Bruno Rasmussen Chaves, who has treated more than 2,500 drug addicts with ibogaine in Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo and Ourinhos (SP) since 1997. Bienstar bought him the BRC Saúde Mental , at the same time, appointed the Brazilian as its clinical director (CMO, for “chief medical officer”).
The psychedelic substance originally comes from the root bark of an African plant, Tabernanthe Iboga. In Gabon, Bwiti rituals employ it in rites of passage, as it would have the power to take the person to the realm of the dead.
In 1962, American heroin addict Howard Lotsof found that ibogaine reduced withdrawal symptoms. He became an apostle of the preparation, which spread through semi-clandestine clinics for drug addicts.
In Brazil, Anvisa grants special authorizations, on a case-by-case basis, for treatment with ibogaine. This legal support, along with the size of the national health market and excellence in psychedelic research, attracted the attention of Algorta and its investors.
The businessman wants to prevent Latin America from waking up too late for psychedelic therapies, as he believes has happened with medical marijuana. “Again, it was a gringo thing using non-gringo knowledge,” he says, referring to ibogaine and ayahuasca, used for centuries by South American indigenous peoples and researched at USP and UFRN as an experimental treatment for depression.
“We are going to put our flag in Latin America right now. It’s not for the gringo to see”, says the Uruguayan-Brazilian, himself a beneficiary of a psychedelic (psilocybin).
“I forgave myself. I needed to say thank you,” he says. “My therapist said I had advanced ten years in one day.”
After selling the cannabis business to Khiron in 2019, Algorta still worked for the Canadian company for a few years. He left in January this 2022 to dedicate himself fully to Bienstar which has attracted $1.2 million (R$5.7 million) in investments.
One-sixth of the amount (US$200,000) came from financiers in Uruguay. $500,000 was invested by Canadian psychedelic company Nova Mind, which researches things like LSD for anxiety disorders. Another US$ 500,000 comes from the Plaza Capital fund – in both cases, on the initiative of the Panamanian Raymond Harari.
The other target substance, ketamine (or ketamine), is a widely used anesthetic that has been used as a fast-acting antidepressant. Bienstar is negotiating with anesthesiologists, psychiatrists and psychologists to open clinics specializing in this ketamine treatment, which is commercially available in the United States.
Although legal to use here, both drugs carry risks. Ibogaine can trigger fatal cardiac arrhythmias if given without medical supervision. Ketamine has addictive potential, and as it became popular with young Brits, its abuse caused permanent damage to some nasal septa and urinary bladders.
In addition to Brazil, Bienstar has an eye on the Mexican, Panamanian, Peruvian and Uruguayan markets. The company is headquartered in Brazil, due to the psychedelic critical mass, and in Uruguay, where the financial situation is more stable and it is possible to maintain a bank account in foreign currency, explains Algorta.
The investor considers the science behind psychedelics better equipped to measure effects and present them to regulatory authorities. “THE [pesquisa com] cannabis started in the 1970s; psychedelic, long before,” he says, referring to several studies with LSD, psilocybin and MDMA before prohibition in the 1970s/80s.
Algorta sees more differences than similarities between the cannabis and psychedelic branches. But he intends to use the experience acquired in the first one to avoid mishaps – such as the legal impediment to receiving in the bank account of the partner, Agustina Loinaz, US$ 60 thousand received by Cannapur in support of the IDB.
In the face of existing prejudice, despite the sometimes exaggerated enthusiasm for the psychedelic renaissance, Bienstar plans to invest not only in clinics, but in medical education and public enlightenment. To this end, it plans to hold an international event in November in Rio de Janeiro with Brazilian and foreign luminaries of psychedelic science.
“Brazil has 8 or 9 of the 100 ‘top players’ in [estudos] psychedelics”, highlights Algorta. “It’s a barn.”
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To learn more about the history and new developments of science in this area, including in Brazil, look for my book “Psiconautas – Travels with Brazilian Psychedelic Science”
Chad-98Weaver, a distinguished author at NewsBulletin247, excels in the craft of article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a penchant for storytelling, Chad delivers informative and engaging content that resonates with readers across various subjects. His contributions are a testament to his dedication and expertise in the field of journalism.
