Psilera has announced that Magali Haas, MD, PhD, will be its new Chief Medical Officer. Psilera is a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Haas is the founder of Cohen Veterans Bioscience, and served as its Board Chair and CEO. She also spent more than a decade at Johnson & Johnson in a variety of leadership roles.

Psilera Welcomes New Officer

“Dr. Haas’s leadership in advancing innovative neuroscience research into FDA-approved drugs aligns perfectly with Psilera’s mission to expand access to safe and effective treatments for underserved patient populations,” said Chris Witowski, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of Psilera. “Her appointment marks an important milestone as we look to a critical growth year ahead.”

Haas also expressed her enthusiasm for the Chief Medical Officer position with Psilera.

“Psilera is at the forefront of next-generation neuropsychiatric medicine, leveraging innovative science to design safer and more effective therapies,” Haas said. “I am thrilled to join this exceptional team and to help advance Psilera’s growing pipeline to deliver transformative treatments for patients affected by debilitating brain disorders.”

Details of Haas’ Role

Psilera said Haas will help the company’s development of PSIL-006. That is a potentially first-in-class therapeutic for treatment of frontotemporal dementia. The company said she has a “proven track record” leading global Phase II and III clinical trial programs.

Overall, Psilera aims to continue to advance a pipeline of next-generation neuroplastogens into clinical development.

Other Psilera News

In February 2025, atai Life Sciences agreed to acquire Psilera’s DMT (N,N-dimethyltryptamine) patent portfolio. At the time, Psilera said it planned to advance PSIL-006 to the clinic for first-in-human trials in 2026.

“We’re pleased to collaborate with atai on the DMT patent portfolio given their leadership in psychedelic drug development,” Witowski said following the agreement. “This outcome helps us to advance the clinical development of our lead asset PSIL-006 in frontotemporal dementia and our leading next-generation neuroplastogen pipeline.”