Scottsdale Research Institute

What Scottsdale Research Institute does

SRI Foundation (formerly Scottsdale Research Institute Foundation) is a nonprofit clinical research organization founded in 2009 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. The organization conducts FDA-regulated clinical trials evaluating whole plant and fungal medicines — specifically cannabis, psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA — as therapeutic interventions for PTSD, chronic pain, major depressive disorder, and end-of-life distress. SRI holds eight DEA licenses to cultivate, research, test, and import/export controlled substances, a regulatory footprint that enabled it to end a 50-year federal monopoly on cannabis cultivation for research. Its founder, president, and principal investigator Dr. Sue Sisley MD has over 20 years of clinical experience with veterans and led the first cannabis-PTSD clinical trial for veterans in 2019.

The organization's technology is fundamentally biological and regulatory rather than software-based: a DEA-licensed laboratory cultivates medical-grade cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms that reflect real-world patient-accessed products, enabling research accuracy that illicit-source products cannot match. SRI supplies these research-grade medicines on a limited basis to other research partners throughout the United States. The portfolio includes FDA-regulated research programs in cannabis, psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA, an active Major Depressive Disorder clinical trial (2024), an FDA Phase 2 veteran pain/PTSD trial (2024), and a Right to Try patient access pathway that enables federally legal access to investigational Psilocybin and Cannabis after Phase 1 completion.

SRI is a donation-funded nonprofit with no commercial products and no disclosed funding rounds. Revenue comes from individual contributions via PayPal and likely foundation grants, with participation in clinical trials free for eligible patients. Go-to-market is hybrid: event-driven clinical trial recruitment via website enrollment forms combined with community-led advocacy among veterans, researchers, and government stakeholders aimed at advancing plant medicine policy. The organization is governed by a board of directors and employs approximately 7 staff. Customer/participant segments are personas (veterans with PTSD, terminally ill patients, patients with treatment-resistant mental health conditions) rather than enterprise accounts, and the strategic intent is to generate clinical evidence that supports expanded patient access and policy reform for Schedule I plant medicines.

Name

Scottsdale Research Institute

Legal name

SRI Foundation

Website

https://scottsdaleresearchinstitute.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SRI Foundation is a Scottsdale, Arizona-based nonprofit clinical research organization founded in 2009 that conducts FDA-regulated trials on whole plant and fungal medicines — cannabis, psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA — for veterans with PTSD and other treatment-resistant conditions, holding eight DEA licenses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071)

akta.pro primary industry

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Global Health Research, Clinical Trials & Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) (HLAJAOAM)

Keywords

• Cannabis clinical research
• Psychedelic clinical trials
• DEA-licensed cultivation
• Plant medicine research
• FDA-regulated trials

Headquarters

HQ city

Scottsdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a nonprofit research organization (SRI Foundation), the primary revenue stream is through donations from individuals supporting veterans' mental health research and plant medicine science.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SRI Foundation is a nonprofit clinical research organization that operates a DEA-licensed laboratory to cultivate whole-plant and fungal medicines (cannabis, psilocybin, LSD, MDMA) and runs FDA-regulated clinical trials evaluating these substances as treatments for PTSD, major depressive disorder, chronic pain, and end-of-life distress, primarily serving veterans and patients with treatment-resistant conditions. The organization also provides a Right to Try access pathway for eligible patients and supplies research-grade controlled substances to research partners on a limited basis.

Product overview

SRI Foundation operates as a nonprofit clinical research organization offering a portfolio of FDA-regulated research programs focused on whole plant and fungal medicines. The organization conducts clinical trials for cannabis, psilocybin, LSD, and MDMA as therapeutic treatments for conditions including PTSD, chronic pain, major depressive disorder, and end-of-life distress. Alongside research programs, SRI provides a Right to Try program enabling eligible patients to access investigational treatments, and offers DEA-licensed cultivation services for controlled substances to research partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cannabis Research Program FDA-regulated research on medical-grade cannabis for treating PTSD, chronic pain, and other conditions in veterans and patients. Includes Phase 2 trials.
• Psilocybin Research Program Psychedelic mushroom research studying the effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy on pain, end-of-life distress, and PTSD, including FDA Phase 1/2 trials. Products can be made into chocolates, tea, and other foods for near-precision dosing.
• LSD Research Program Research on LSD-assisted therapy for terminally ill patients with end-of-life demoralization.
• MDMA Research Program Research on MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD treatment, leveraging the drug's psychopharmacological effects including decreased fear and increased interpersonal trust.
• Depression Clinical Trial An active clinical study for Major Depressive Disorder researching psychedelic medication as a treatment option for patients with MDD.
• Right to Try Program Federally legal pathway for eligible patients diagnosed with life-threatening diseases who have exhausted approved treatment options to access investigational drugs including Psilocybin and Cannabis.
• Controlled Substance Cultivation Services DEA-licensed laboratory services for cultivating whole plant and fruiting body medicines (cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms) for research purposes, with capability to supply medicines to research partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• First clinical trial for cannabis as PTSD treatment for veterans conducted in 2019
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMAPS conducted research showing LSD-assisted therapy helped permanently reduce existential anxiety in terminal illness patients. SRI Foundation cites MAPS studies and has been licensed to conduct similar future studies for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD treatment.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• MindMed: Public neuro-pharmaceutical company developing psychedelic-inspired medicines for mental health and substance use disorders. Runs clinical trials across LSD and MDMA-related programs comparable to SRI's research portfolio.
• Atai Life Sciences: Public clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing psychedelic and complementary therapies for mental health indications including PTSD and depression. Competes with SRI in the same psychedelic-medicine research category.
• Compass Pathways: Public mental health care company running psilocybin therapy clinical trials for treatment-resistant depression. Comparable in clinical trial focus on psychedelic medicine for mental health indications, though operated as a venture-backed company rather than nonprofit.
• Beckley Foundation: UK-based nonprofit driving psychedelic research and policy reform, collaborating with academic partners on psilocybin and other psychedelic trials. Comparable peer in the nonprofit psychedelic research and policy advocacy space.

Direct peers

• Heffter Research Institute: Nonprofit scientific research organization funding and supporting psilocybin and other psychedelic research at leading academic institutions. Comparable peer due to similar nonprofit research mission targeting psychedelic medicine.
• MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies): Nonprofit psychedelic and medical cannabis research organization running FDA-regulated trials (MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD). SRI directly cites MAPS studies and has been licensed to conduct similar future MDMA-PTSD work, making it the closest comparable peer.
• Usona Institute: Nonprofit medical research organization sponsoring psilocybin clinical trials for major depressive disorder and other psychiatric conditions. Operates with a similar FDA-trial focus and donation-funded nonprofit model as SRI.

Broad incumbents

• Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research: First US academic research center dedicated to psychedelic medicine research, conducting FDA-regulated trials on psilocybin. Comparable peer given shared focus on psychedelic clinical trials, though embedded within a major university rather than operating as a standalone nonprofit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scottsdale-research-institute

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scottsdale Research Institute