Author: Kai Erfle

In the psychedelic realm of drug development, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine. While some companies like Lykos Therapeutics and Compass Pathways have faced setbacks that resulted in layoffs (cue the sad trombone), Johnson & Johnson is riding high with their ketamine-derived superstar, Spravato. This nasal spray is expected to hit blockbuster status, laying the groundwork for new psychedelic treatments to follow.

Enter Cybin, a Toronto-based company charging forward with a psilocin candidate, CYB003, aimed at tackling major depressive disorder. Taking notes from the FDA’s playbook, Cybin is incorporating short primary endpoints, ensuring a psychedelic-naïve population, and perfecting the art of thorough blinding in their clinical trials. Their secret sauce? Monitored sessions complete with soothing tunes, where sharp-eyed monitors can usually spot who’s on the psychedelic magic carpet ride and who’s just got a dud ticket.

To keep things above board, Cybin records these sessions and employs AI to keep an eye out for any monkey business, ensuring that no one sneaks in bias like a sneaky cat burglar. They’re also in cahoots with the FDA thanks to a breakthrough therapy designation, allowing for some quality back-and-forth on development strategy. Cybin plans to roll out a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) program for CYB003, similar to the successful model used by Spravato, as they dream of seamlessly integrating into existing treatment centers.

With potential changes in leadership at the HHS/FDA, there’s a hopeful buzz in the air about regulated psychedelics becoming a real-life option. So, while some companies are licking their wounds, others are psychedelically surging ahead, ready to change the mental health landscape one

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Reference: https://www.lifescienceleader.com/doc/fda-s-psychedelic-reckoning-0001

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In a plot twist worthy of an ancient Egyptian soap opera, a 2,000-year-old mug recently unearthed at the Tampa Museum of Art has been revealed to contain the original “party mix” of psychedelics and mystical ingredients. This ancient mug, dating back to the second century B.C.E. during Egypt’s Ptolemaic period, features the image of Bes, the Egyptian deity known for protecting households and, apparently, throwing some wild ritual parties.

Researchers, expecting perhaps a bit of ancient ale residue, were flabbergasted to find psychedelic components like Peganum harmala and Egyptian lotus mingling with traces of alcohol, honey, and—brace yourself—possibly human blood and bodily fluids. Talk about a cocktail that packs a punch! These intriguing ingredients suggest that the mug was used for life and fertility rituals, adding a new dimension to “drinking for a cause.”

The study draws fascinating parallels with Greek incubation rituals, where imbibing these potent brews was all about inducing dreams for divine guidance. It’s like calling on the Oracle, but with a stronger beverage and a much more colorful bedtime story.

This groundbreaking research marks the first detailed scientific analysis of a Bes mug’s contents, giving historians and party planners alike new insights into ancient ritualistic shindigs. Researchers are now eagerly planning to examine other Bes mugs, hoping to uncover if this was the standard ancient Egyptian way to liven up a Saturday night. Cheers to that!

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Reference: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-egyptians-drank-psychedelic-concoctions-from-this-2000-year-old-mug-study-finds-180985500/

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In 2022, Colorado decided to make magic mushrooms and other psychedelics legally kosher, leading to some trippy planning in Colorado Springs. The city is gearing up to open “Natural Medicine” centers, where you can get your dose of enlightenment starting January 2025, assuming the paperwork doesn’t get lost in the cosmic void. But don’t worry, they’re not sprouting up next to your kid’s school or your grandma’s daycare—thanks to a new ordinance passed 7-3, these centers must keep a respectful one-mile distance from such places.

Councilmember Yolanda Avilah is all for having these centers scattered like confetti in each city district, especially to help veterans dealing with PTSD. She’s got veteran Lane Malone backing her up, who thinks these centers should be as easy to find as a Starbucks. But not everyone’s on board the psychedelic express—Henny Lasley is waving her caution flag, worried that the centers might attract curious kiddos, despite age restrictions that should keep them out.

The city council will have a second go-round with the ordinance in December, just in time to decide if these centers are a holiday gift or a New Year’s resolution gone wrong.

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Reference: https://krdo.com/news/2024/11/26/where-psilocybin-treatment-centers-could-be-located-in-colorado-springs/

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Published Date: 2024-11-26

Get ready for a mind-bending trip through the world of mental health as Scott Aaronson, M.D., dons his psychedelic lab coat to present “Psychedelics on the Edge: Experiences in Difficult to Treat Depression” at the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Grand Rounds. Aaronson, who doubles as a chief science officer and resident psychiatrist at Sheppard Pratt, is here to enlighten mental health pros on the groovy role psychedelics can play in treating stubborn cases of depression.

Attendees will leave with the superpowers to identify the traits that make someone respond to these treatments, say “no thanks” when a candidate doesn’t fit study criteria, and explain the mystifying mechanisms of these mind-altering substances. Plus, if anyone’s speaking in tongues (or just really fast), interpretation services are just a request away.

In the spirit of transparency, Aaronson’s affiliations with various pharmaceutical consultancies are laid out like cards on a table, along with Nemeroff’s role as the principal investigator for some hefty grants, including those from the National Institutes of Health. He’s tackling everything from alcohol use disorder to PTSD to bipolar disorder—talk about having a full plate!

Rest assured, the CME Advisory Committee is squeaky clean with no financial skeletons in their closets, and any potential conflicts of interest have been thoroughly neutralized.

To sweeten the deal, the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School is handing out 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ like candy, ensuring attendees not only expand their minds but also their professional credentials. So, strap in for a psychedelic journey—who knew learning could be this trippy?

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Reference: https://dellmed.utexas.edu/events/psychiatry-behavioral-sciences-grand-rounds-psychedelics-on-the-edge

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PsyDAO recently pulled off a groovy feat, raising about $2 million by selling 20% of its PSY tokens. This psychedelic-powered funding trip is all about pushing the envelope in psychedelic science and art. The timing was perfect, with decentralized science (DeSci) getting a popularity boost thanks to Binance Labs’ investment in the BIO Protocol and cheerleaders like Vitalik Buterin and CZ waving their pom-poms.

Traditional psychedelic research might have hit a few bumps on its magic carpet ride, but PsyDAO’s success is a testament to the power of decentralized, democratic funding models. They’re shaking things up with a two-token governance system and are planning to introduce IP-NFTs for managing intellectual property in psychedelic research. Meanwhile, BeeARD, an AI-driven sidekick, is on the hunt for intellectual property treasures in the psychedelic realm, ready to sprinkle investment magic dust on them.

PsyDAO is taking notes from other cool kids like VitaDAO and CryoDAO, aiming to democratize psychedelic research funding, which holds promise for mental health and addiction treatment. VitaDAO, for example, plays fairy godparent to longevity research, with token holders getting a slice of the intellectual property pie.

PsyDAO is all about getting the community involved—whether it’s via token holding, governance participation, or sparking conversations on social media. They’re also collaborating with a Shipibo nonprofit to preserve culture through NFTs, because who says you can’t save culture and have a psychedelic party at the same time?

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Reference: https://mirror.xyz/0x3ccF80a0f26ED8BC2E11d2a4e0813816048BCA38/zP8Adajzgf07b1Pl857gHGDv9DW93sKlSr6wBwrEiHA

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Endpoints subscribers are in for a magical treat! Forget the hassle of passwords; just type in your email, and voilà—a mystical, 24-hour magic link appears in your inbox. It’s like a fairy godmother for your login woes, waving away the dreadful ‘forgotten password’ curse. Just click the link, and you’re in—no spells required!

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Reference: https://endpts.com/from-vaccines-to-psychedelics-five-drugmakers-on-what-could-change-under-a-trump-administration/

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Attention, intrepid internet explorer! If you’re navigating the wilds of the web with an outdated browser, Nature.com has a survival tip for you. It’s like trying to appreciate a rainbow while wearing sunglasses: your current browser might be showing the site in plain, unstyled glory and without the magical powers of JavaScript.

To prevent this digital fashion faux pas, Nature.com suggests you either grab the latest browser version or give Internet Explorer’s compatibility mode the boot. If not, you’ll be stuck in a prehistoric internet era, where everything is black and white and clickable buttons have all the pizzazz of a wet noodle.

So, update that browser and step into a world where CSS is king and JavaScript is the court jester, ready to show you a more colorful and interactive web experience. Trust us, your eyes will thank you!

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Reference: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03800-9

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In 1938, Albert Hofmann, the chemist equivalent of a mad scientist (minus the evil plans), concocted LSD while cooking up ergot-derived drugs for Sandoz in Basel, Switzerland. Initially, this LSD-25 was like the wallflower at a party, unnoticed and unremarkable, and was promptly shoved into the back of the lab’s metaphorical closet. Fast forward to 1943, when Hofmann decided to dust off this forgotten formula. In a plot twist straight out of a sci-fi movie, he accidentally experienced its psychedelic effects, probably making him the first person ever to take an unplanned trip without leaving home!

Intrigued, Hofmann decided to become his own lab rat and conducted intentional self-experiments, diving headfirst into a kaleidoscope of intense sensory overloads. Picture a scientist riding a bicycle through a rainbow tunnel—yep, that kind of trip. While Hofmann’s accidental discovery eventually catapulted LSD into the heart of 1960s counterculture, complete with tie-dye shirts and peace signs, his original mission was less about peace, love, and music festivals, and more about serious science. He was focused on tapping into LSD’s potential medicinal uses, blissfully unaware that it was destined to become the psychedelic poster child of a generation.

So, in a nutshell, Hofmann created LSD while chasing scientific breakthroughs, accidentally took a joyride on the psychedelic highway, and unintentionally laid the foundation for a cultural phenomenon. And all this without ever intending to spark a revolution in consciousness or fashion choices!

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Reference: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/discover-the-origins-of-a-psychedelic-drug-synthesized-by-a-swiss-chemist-who-claimed-it-found-and-called-me-180985208/

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At the fourth annual “Let’s Talk About Psychedelics Without the Tie-Dye” conference in Boston, experts gathered to discuss the latest findings in psychedelic medicine. Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum, the event’s ringleader, pointed out that psychedelics are having a moment—like a rock band making an unexpected comeback. He shared groovy data showing these mind-bending substances might actually help with depression, addiction, and PTSD. So, while your favorite psychedelic tunes from the ’60s might not be making a return, it seems their namesake medicines are hitting all the right notes in the field of mental health.

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Reference: https://wbznewsradio.iheart.com/content/experts-gather-at-4th-annual-mgh-psychedelics-conference/

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