Psychedelics News August 2020

News about psychedelics hasn’t slowed down a bit during August. Everyone was delighted by the news that MAPS raised the $30 million they need to get MDMA-assisted psychotherapy through Phase III of FDA trials. Within a span of 6 months, they were able to raise this money from both large (from both aisles) and small donors (2700 in total).

Accessibility of psychedelics also saw two major steps forward happen. Usona Institute (a non-profit) found a way to make psilocybin at scale, and will make that knowledge public. In Canada four patients got access to end-of-life anxiety therapy with psilocybin. Many theorize that this may open a door for greater access both for this specific group and the wider population. Seeing the numerous positive articles written about it, the public perception is changing for the better.

Psychedelics companies announced multiple clinical trials. The most interesting being a study that combines LSD and MDMA, by MindMed and Liechti Labs. Other companies announced various products from orally dissolvable films for the administration of psilocybin (Revive) to an app to use during your next trip (Field Trip).

Do also see our Psychedelics Research August 2020 blog.

NGOs and advocacy:

• MAPS (and PSFC) has raised the $30 million they need to get MDMA for PTSD through Phase III FDA trials
  • All the funding came from donations, of which many were of a large and diverse set of $500k-$1 donors
• Usona Institute finds a more effective way to make psilocybin at scale, 1.2kg per batch = 50.000 research dosages
  • “Making this discovery publicly available is the result of Usona’s Open Science commitment to advance scientific knowledge in the field.”
  • They also (via their newsletter) announced that their Phase II trials have started up again
• 4 Palliative Canadians approved for end of life psilocybin therapy through section 56(1) ; First legal medical exemptions for psilocybin in Canada since 1970’s
  • Great news for the patients and a first step forward in the medical availability of these medicines
  • Psilocybin (mushrooms) are not difficult to get a hold of in Canada, but doing this within the established system hasn’t been done for 50 years
  • The process, using Section 56, is also what in 1999 got medical marijuana exempted
  • Also reported in Rolling Stone, Psillow, DoubleBlind, Vice, CTVNews (and many more)
  • The first Canadian to legally consume psilocybin for medical purposes shares his experience
• The petition to legalize natural psychedelic drugs in Canada is also going well with over 13,000 signatures
• Psilocybin will not be rescheduled in the UK, shame!
  • But MP Crispin Blunt has launched an investigation into the response
• But in the EU, the Twenty21 medical cannabis registry goes live, a project by Drug Science
• And the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group isn’t sitting still, they launched a ‘sign, send, subscribe’ campaign
  • The campaign aims to enlist grassroots support for the rescheduling of psilocybin
• Decriminalize Nature D.C. has had success in getting a vote on the November ballot (“I-81”)
• Unlimited Sciences launches a survey study on natural use of psilocybin, together with Johns Hopkins University (press release)

Corporate Corner:

• I reported on a job board by the Conscious Fund at the end of last month, only days later Psilocybin Alpha launches their own job board
• ATAI founder, Christian Angermayer, collected €13 million on a deal between SoftBank and Wirecard (paywall), the latter being called ‘the Enron of Germany’
  • ATAI also enters into a feasibility agreement with InteGenx to develop polymeric (macro-molecules) film-based psychedelics
  • And the company launches a subsidiary to develop MDMA derivatives, called EmpathBio
• Peter Gasser will become an advisor on Project Lucy, the LSD experiential therapy program by MindMed
  • And not staying behind on the MDMA front, the company announces clinical trial that combines MDMA and LSD
• Susan Chapelle, CEO of Havn Life, speaks about providing GMP grade psilocybin to Futurism
• Field Trip has launched an app ‘trip’ to be your set and setting
  • And has raised $11 in a Series B financing
• Spravato (expensive, nasal spray of esketamine) has been approved by the FDA to treat suicidal ideation and behavior
  • This is in complement to the use for (treatment-resistant) depression
  • Also reported in NPR
• Eleusis finds that 2C-H has an anti-inflammatory effect for patients suffering from asthma without the psychedelic effects
  • They found that the potency wasn’t predicted by a psychedelics’ (21 tested) psychoactive properties
• NeuroPharm (Mydecine Innovations Group) has announced a partnership with Leiden University for a clinical trial of psilocybin for PTSD in veterans
  • The trial still needs to pass the Research Ethics Board but should commence later this year
  • It is unique in that it combines psilocybin and PTSD (which is mostly being studied with MDMA-assisted therapy by MAPS)
• Mydecine will extract psilocybin from natural sources and aims to sell it to researchers and for-profits
  • The press release also notes that they can/will internally compare the natural (extracted) and synthetic (lab-made) version (plus minus the other molecules that may lead to an entourage effect)
• Revive Therapeutics has developed prototypes of an orally dissolvable thin film for psilocybin
• In The Netherlands, guides and retreats are working on building ethical guidelines
• Champignon Brands (soon Apotheosis Scientific) will start offering esketamine treatment for MDD

News/Articles:

• Neuroimaging study suggests a single dose of ayahuasca produces lasting changes in two important brain networks (PsyPost)
• Magic Mushrooms and the Future of Psychology (Psychology Today)
• Experts Explain What Happens In Your Brain When You Take ‘Shrooms (Bustle)
• The FDA just approved a nasal spray to relieve suicidal thoughts (Business Insider)
• Making Amazing Recreational Drug Cocktails (Qualia Computing)
• Why Don’t More Black People Use Psychedelics? (Medium)
• How COVID-19 will Affect the Psychedelic Renaissance (Volteface)
• After the pandemic, could psychedelic treatment help us heal? (Mic)
• The Psychedelic Revival (series of posts on psychedelics by the Society for Cultural Anthropology)
• Psychedelics Reduce Depressive Symptoms Through Emotional Acceptance (Interesting Engineering)
• Magic mushrooms should be legalised to save NHS millions says cop boss (Mirror)
• How to Take Shrooms & How to Make Shroom Tea: The Ultimate Mushroom Tea Guide (DoubleBlind)
• This Dot-Com Guru is Asking Trump to Legalize Psychedelics (DoubleBlind)
• Silicon Valley and Wall Street Elites Pour Money Into Psychedelic Research (Wall Street Journal)
• Plant Medicine Church in Oakland Gets Raided by Local Police Department (DoubleBlind)
• Netflix docuseries ‘(Un)Well’ takes on the $4.5 trillion wellness industry (Fast Company, tangentially related)
• What Psychedelics Could Mean for Eating Disorders (Lucid News)
• Do Psychedelic Worlds Really Exist? (Psychology Today)
• Wall Street donors are racing to back psychedelic therapy (QZ)
• An Introduction to Psychedelics in Marketing (Adweek)
• Inside the Work of a New York Psychedelic Trip Guide (Filter)
• Advocates Unveil Guide For Psychedelic Healing Ceremonies They Hope To Legalize In Oakland (Marijuana Moment)
• U of L scientists receive two New Frontiers in Research awards (Lethbridge News Now)
• The biggest challenges for psychedelic science today (ICPR)
• ‘A Hail Mary’: Psychedelic Therapy Draws Veterans to Jungle Retreats (NYT)
• Cancer Patients Say Psilocybin Can Be Both Therapy and “A Beautiful Experience” (Inverse)
• How and Why Psychedelics Created the Silicon Valley Phenomenon (Cannabis Investor)
• Study: a Microdose of Lsd Could Alter a Fundamental Human Experience (Inverse)