Andrew Kruegel

Andrew Kruegel is a biotech entrepreneur, medicinal chemist, and the co-founder of Kures, based in the New York City metropolitan area. He earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Columbia University, where he subsequently worked as a research scientist focusing on central nervous system drug discovery. As a pharmacologist specializing in atypical opioids and psychedelic compounds, he has authored multiple highly cited peer-reviewed studies and serves as a co-inventor on several patents for novel psychoactive compounds and kratom derivatives. In 2019, his startup Kures entered into a joint venture with the publicly traded biopharmaceutical company atai Life Sciences to develop targeted therapeutics for opioid use disorder and depression. Kruegel currently focuses on combining his academic research background with intellectual property strategy and fundraising to advance the preclinical development of psychoactive drugs for psychiatric illnesses.