Next Generation Brain Health
At FIVE Discovery we believe the brain’s intrinsic capacity for resilience remains vastly under-leveraged by today’s medicines. Which is why we’re developing the world’s most effective non-hallucinogenic neuroplastogens designed to repair, regenerate, and protect the brain from disease, trauma and neurodegeneration.
Our Mission
At FIVE Discovery, we’re working at the intersection of neuroscience, medicinal chemistry and artificial intelligence to translate the profound regenerative mechanisms unlocked by the chemical scaffolds of 5-MeO-DMT into fast-acting, non-hallucinogenic neuroplastagens that are scalable, safe and durable across multiple neurological indications.
Our Approach
Our discovery platform is designed for precision and de-risking from early-stage through to clinical application with the aim to deliver first-in-class therapeutic candidates in a capital-efficient timeline.
Our first program is advancing through preclinical, validating our approach to discovering safe, scalable non-hallucinogenic neuroplastagens. Additional candidates are in active development, each designed to extend the promise of 5-MeO-DMT into real-world medicine.
Get in touch for full program pipeline details.
Our Team
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Joel Brierre is the co-founder and CEO of FIVE, a training, research, & public education company dedicated to unlocking the full potential of 5-MeO-DMT, the world's most powerful psychedelic.
FIVE is a team of leading psychedelic innovators, building world-class training and advancing groundbreaking research with the industries top university researchers, including the first official EEG study of the 5-MeO peak experience.
Joel is also the founder of the Tandava Institute in Tepoztlán, Mexico, a first of it's kind centre that has facilitated thousands of experiences, collecting Real-World Evidence Data through multi-day retreats to further inform the quality of education, training, best practices and safety protocols in the industry.
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Cory Firth is a human-impact communication strategist and regulatory advocate with almost a decade of experience advancing brain health, mental well-being and psychedelic innovation. After exiting his global communications agency, Cory dedicated his career to transforming mental health and drug policy, holding advisory positions across Canada, the U.S. the U.K. and Australia.
As the founding Executive Director of the Psychedelic Association of Canada and co-founder of the PsyCan trade association, Cory has helped shape international advocacy frameworks and co-authored a memorandum of regulatory approval that expanded medical access to psilocybin and MDMA in Canada. Today, he channels his expertise in communications, policy & performance science to drive projects that redefine the future of brain heath, consciousness, human intelligence & longevity.
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Dr. Manesh Girn is a dynamic psychedelic neuroscientist who bridges academia, industry, and public education. As a postdoctoral researcher at UCSF, he works alongside Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris to study how psychedelics impact the brain and mental health. He has authored 20+ peer-reviewed papers related to psychedelics, brain networks, and mental health.
Beyond academia, Dr. Girn serves as Scientific Director at The Center for MINDS, a non-profit researching psychedelics and consciousness practices for catalyzing creativity and insight, and as Lead Neuroscience Consultant at F.IV.E. Education and Research, where he advises on research efforts related to 5-MeO-DMT.
A passionate communicator, he translates complex scientific concepts into an accessible form as the creator of The Psychedelic Scientist, a popular YouTube channel and Instagram platform, as well as through frequent public lectures and podcasts.
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Philip Young is a proven CEO and Chairman with extensive experience leading public and private companies as an executive and a board member. A strategic leader in fundraising and corporate governance, he drives growth and innovation across industries. With deep expertise in biotech, he has guided drug research and development programs from discovery through clinical trials to successful commercialization. His leadership has delivered innovative therapies to market, advancing patient outcomes and shareholder value.
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Matthew Killeen is an entrepreneurial biopharma executive with deep experience across cardiometabolic, rare and genetic, neuromuscular, and CNS diseases. He has a strong track record of building pipelines, advancing first-in-class therapies, and driving R&D and corporate strategy across both publicly traded and emerging biopharma companies.
At BioMarin, Matthew founded and scaled a new therapeutic area targeting under-addressed genetic diseases, built a portfolio of new programs, and forged multiple strategic alliances. Earlier at BioMarin, he led portfolio planning, R&D strategy, and competitive intelligence initiatives across therapeutic areas and modalities.
As Chief Scientific Officer at Renovacor, a publicly traded biotech, he built and led the research organization, developed the R&D strategy, and expanded the pipeline. Renovacor was acquired by Rocket Pharmaceuticals in 2022.
Most recently, as President of TikkunLev Therapeutics, Matthew led the company’s launch and shaped its R&D and corporate strategy, driving the development of its first-in-class genetic medicine for heart failure. He currently advises biopharma companies and investors on R&D, pipeline, and corporate strategy across diverse modalities and therapeutic areas, with a major focus on rare and genetic, cardiometabolic, and CNS conditions. He also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Carbon Biosciences.
Earlier in his career, at Biogen, Matthew supported the launch of three new CNS therapies and was a management consultant advising global biopharma companies in the U.S. and Europe.
He holds a Ph.D. in cardiac electrophysiology from the University of Cambridge and was awarded research fellowships from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He has also completed programs in entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership at Stanford University and Oxford University and is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, the American College of Cardiology, and the Heart Rhythm Society.
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Dr. Lindsay Cameron is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Malenka and Deisseroth labs at Stanford University, studying psychedelics for treating neuropsychiatric disorders. She completed her Ph.D. in the Olson Lab at UC Davis, where she investigated the effects of psychedelics and novel analogs for treating conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addiction.
Dr. Cameron has expertise in designing and executing laboratory-based experiments at the intersection of drug design and neuroscience. She is a strong team player, quick learner, and problem-solver with experience leading projects through to completion and publication. A passionate advocate for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice, she works to increase accessibility and equality in science and academia.
She is also an avid science communicator who loves explaining research to a wide audience and teaching laboratory techniques. Dr. Cameron’s interests span emotion, neural plasticity, and the transformative potential of psychedelics.
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Pavol is a medicinal chemist and pharmacologist with focus on development and synthesis of nature-derived entheogens used for the treatment of psychological disorders.
From these, 5-MeO DMT and lbogaine derivatives which support the growth of neural networks and increase the ability of complex thinking can be mentioned.
He interconnects scientific research with a human-oriented approach and together with the science, he is focused on self-development, 5-MeO DMT facilitation and studying the links between human body, mind and spirit.
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Nikolaus Mackay, is a UC Berkeley-trained chemical and biomolecular engineer, who has developed innovative materials in polymers, plant-based foods, and bio-composites.
Nikolaus applies deep expertise in Al and modern computational chemistry tools to advance chemical design in drug discovery.
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Josh grew up in England and Ireland, where his fascination with neuropharmacology first took root. After moving to Canada to earn his PhD in neuroscience, he turned his focus to exploring how psychedelics may promote recovery from injury and trauma. Guided by a passion for neuroscience, mental health, and consciousness, Josh is driven by a curiosity about how novel compounds can deepen our understanding of the mind and its ability to heal.
From investing in FIVE Discovery to academic collaborations and media requests, we are happy to explore potential ways to collaborate with you. Fill in the inquiry form to get in touch.