Posted on

CaaMTech Collaborates with the Alexander Shulgin Research Institute to Study Shulgin Compounds

CaaMTech Collaborates with the Alexander Shulgin Research Institute to Study Shulgin Compounds

CaaMTech will help carry on Dr. Alexander Shulgin’s legacy by developing ASRI’s novel compounds

Lafayette, CA – July 6, 2022 – CaaMTech, Inc. and the Alexander Shulgin Research Institute, Inc. (ASRI) jointly announced an agreement today to carry out structural and chemical analyses of previously unreported compounds designed and synthesized by the late Dr. Alexander Shulgin. 

ASRI is a psychedelics discovery, development, and educational organization dedicated to continuing and extending the work of Dr. Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin.  Known as “the Godfather of psychedelics,” Dr. Shulgin was a biochemist and pharmacologist known for his documented synthesis – and personal testing – of hundreds of novel psychoactive compounds. Alongside his wife Ann, Dr. Shulgin published “PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story” in 1991 and “TiHKAL: The Continuation” in 1997 (Phenethylamines and Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved, respectively) documenting his synthesis and testing of novel psychedelics. Dr. Shulgin’s groundbreaking research into novel psychoactive compounds was foundational to psychedelic chemistry and the CaamTech-ASRI research collaboration is a continuation of that legacy.

Several hundred compounds, collectively known as the Shulgin Vault, were created by Dr. Shulgin at his famed laboratory in Lafayette, California. Many of these compounds have not yet been characterized and some may have therapeutic value, although their effects remain unknown. As a first step, compounds will be transferred to CaaMTech to be crystallized and analyzed using X-ray crystallography to determine their crystal structures.

“We are excited to discover what surprises Dr. Shulgin has left behind for us,” said Dr. Nicholas Cozzi, President and Co-Founder of ASRI. “We anticipate that some of these compounds will eventually be evaluated in humans for possible therapeutic benefits, while others may be useful as tools to deepen our understanding of neuropharmacology, brain function, and consciousness itself.”

Dr. Shulgin was able to design, synthesize, and test hundreds of compounds in his lab in Lafayette, California, but he did not have the benefit of modern equipment, such as X-ray diffractometers. Since that time, X-ray crystallography has become the gold standard of chemical characterization.  Compounds supplied by ASRI to CaaMTech under the agreement will be transferred to the Manke Lab at UMass Dartmouth where they will be purified to yield single crystals.  The compounds will then undergo X-ray powder diffraction analysis to determine their crystal structures so that future research can be conducted with rigorously pure, well-characterized molecules.

“It is an honor for us to carry on Dr. Alexander Shulgin’s legacy,” said Dr. Andrew Chadeayne, CEO of CaaMTech. “The current state of this industry is possible only because we’re standing on the shoulders of giants such as Alexander Shulgin.”

Posted on

Mike O’Shaughnessy Joins CaamTech as General Counsel and Director of Intellectual Property

Mike O’Shaughnessy Joins CaamTech as General Counsel and Director of Intellectual Property

O’Shaughnessy brings decades of experience in intellectual property strategy, collaborations, and development within the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries

Michael (Mike) O’Shaughnessy has joined CaaMTech as the company’s Director of Intellectual Property. O’Shaughnessy joins CaaMTech with more than two decades of experience in the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries, and expertise in the licensing of intellectual property.  As the company’s Director of Intellectual Property, Mike will manage CaaMTech’s vast intellectual property portfolio, with over two hundred pending patent applications and issued patents protecting CaaMTech’s unmatched library of novel compounds and formulations.

Mike has served as an attorney and advisor to businesses in the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries for over 20 years, including Wyeth, Novartis, AbbVie, and Amgen.  He negotiated high-value asset sales, acquisitions, and licenses, and litigated complex intellectual property disputes throughout the U.S. District Courts, International Trade Commission, and the Federal Circuit as a partner at some of the world’s top law firms including Baker Botts, McDermott Will & Emery, and Finnegan.  Mike has extensive experience developing strategic partnerships and collaborations, managing and enforcing intellectual property portfolios, and navigating federal regulatory pathways.

“Mike brings exactly the expertise that we need right now,” said CaaMTech CEO, Andrew Chadeayne. “After six years of mostly internal development, I am eager to expand our capabilities through collaborations.”

As CaaMTech’s Director of Intellectual Property, O’Shaughnessy will manage the psychedelic industry’s foundational intellectual property portfolio.  CaaMTech’s unique focus on fundamental science has resulted in multiple pioneering innovations that support numerous areas of commercial development.  In managing CaaMTech’s IP department, O’Shaughnessy will focus on advancing the company’s technology towards commercial development through strategic partnerships and collaborations.

“I have been extremely fortunate to have worked with some of the best professionals throughout the pharmaceutical world.  I have helped clients develop innovative portfolios, and commercialize successful products that benefit millions of patients around the world.” said Mike O’Shaughnessy, CaaMTech’s newly appointed Director of Intellectual Property.  “But nothing has been as exciting as this opportunity to join such a talented and innovative team at CaaMTech, where we will truly break new ground together, and serve patients in desperate need for new and effective technologies.  We look forward to collaborating with partners throughout the industry to change the foundation of care.”

Posted on

Wtf is wood lovers paralysis?

What is wood lovers paralysis?

While psychedelic research is rapidly advancing, there’s still a lot we don’t know.

For instance, there’s little research on a rare but scary side effect of magic mushrooms called wood lovers paralysis – a condition causing muscle weakness or paralysis for several hours.

The phenomenon only seems to occur after ingesting mushroom species that grow on wood like Psilocybe azurescens, Psilocybe cyanescens, and Psilocybe subaeruginosa.

Luckily, companies like Lexston Life Sciences (LEXT) and CaaMTech are beginning to study the genetic makeup of various mushroom species to better understand what causes the condition.

PDF of article

Posted on

CaaMTech Collaboration Proves Diversity in Magic Mushroom Chemistry

CaaMTech Collaboration Proves Diversity in Magic Mushroom Chemistry

A new paper published by The Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research in collaboration with CaaMTech reveals the complex chemistry of magic mushrooms

Scientists at The Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology working in collaboration with CaaMTech and UMASS Dartmouth recently reported new results illustrating the diverse chemistry of magic mushrooms. These results were recently published in the journal ChemBioChem in a paper titled “Genetic survey of Psilocybe natural products.”  The publication highlights numerous findings about the chemical composition of psilocybin-containing Psilocybe “magic” mushrooms including the discovery of aeruginascin in new species of mushrooms and the presence of terpene compounds.  The research highlights the chemical variability across different kinds of magic mushrooms and further underscores that different mushrooms have different properties and effects on account of that chemical variability.

Psilocybe “magic” mushrooms’ best known component, psilocybin, is a prodrug of the potent 5-HT2A agonist and powerful psychedelic compound, psilocin. However, psilocybin co-exists in these mushrooms with other less-studied, structurally similar compounds whose roles and pharmacological properties are poorly understood.  The authors of “Genetic survey of Psilocybe natural products” browsed the genomes of five species (P. azurescens, P. cubensis, P. cyanescens, P. mexicana, and P. serbica) to “​​understand more profoundly common and species-specific metabolic capacities.”  This comparison demonstrated the genetic diversity between different species of magic mushrooms, confirming a difference in their biosynthetic machinery.

The work revealed far greater metabolic diversity in Psilocybe mushrooms than previously reported. Among the findings was the metabolic production of aeruginascin (the N-trimethyl analogue of psilocybin, previously found in only three species of mushrooms including P. cubensis) in two new species of mushrooms: P. cyanescens and P. mexicana.  Additionally, the researchers found, for the first time ever in Psilocybe mushrooms, the presence of terpenes – a class of compounds responsible for some of the entourage effects in cannabis.

“Despite six decades of research on magic mushrooms, it is surprising that knowledge on the global set of Psilocybe natural products is virtually non-existent,”  said Prof. Dr. Dirk Hoffmeister, author on the paper and head of the Research Group Pharmaceutical Microbiology at The Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology in Jena, Germany. “It has been truly amazing for our team to discover that a diversity of potentially bioactive molecules is genetically encoded in the magic mushrooms.”

In light of recent efforts to legalize and decriminalize Psilocybe magic mushrooms, “Genetic survey of Psilocybe natural products” further highlights the unmet need for a more complete understanding of the mushrooms’ chemical composition and metabolome.  For example, the delayed paralytic effects known as Wood Lovers Paralysis caused by some species of Psilocybe magic mushrooms has yet to be explained.

“Five years ago magic mushrooms were treated as psilocybin sources without regard to the other compounds,” said Dr. Andrew Chadeayne, CEO of CaaMTech. “By changing the focus from mushrooms to molecules, we’re discovering the importance of many previously overlooked compounds.”

Posted on

“Minor” Magic Mushroom Compound Crystal Structure Solved

“Minor” Magic Mushroom Compound Crystal Structure Solved

While psilocybin continues to receive attention as the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, CaaMTech scientists have continued filling the unmet need for fundamental scientific understanding of the “other” alkaloids.  In collaboration with the Manke Lab at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, CaaMTech published “The crystal structure of baeocystin” in Acta Crystallographica Section E. The paper reports the crystal structure of the compound baeocystin, an understudied naturally-occurring tryptamine present in most psilocybin magic mushrooms, for the very first time.

Psilocybin, a chemical compound found in psychedelic magic mushrooms, has received a tremendous amount of attention for its potential to treat numerous intractable health conditions. So much so that “psilocybin” and “magic mushrooms” have often and incorrectly been referred to interchangeably.  Psilocybin belongs to a class of compounds known as tryptamines, which closely resemble the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT).  This structural similarity allows psilocybin to fit into and agonize serotonin receptors including the 5-HT2A receptor subtype responsible for elucidating psychedelic experiences.  But psilocybin is not the only tryptamine present in magic mushrooms.

Baeocystin, a zwitterionic alkaloid and analog of psilocybin, is another tryptamine that naturally occurs in most psilocybin mushrooms.  Baeocystin was first synthesized in 1959 and was isolated from the mushroom Psilocybe baeocystis in 1967. Still, relatively little is known about  baeocystin and little scientific research has been conducted due to a lack of access to pure, well-characterized material.  As co-author Alexander Sherwood wrote in a 2020 Journal of Natural Products paper, “…few studies have been conducted to evaluate pharmacological activity of these tryptamines, largely due to lack of availability of the compounds.”

“It is always exciting to solve the structure of a natural product,” said Dr. David R. Manke, Professor at UMass Dartmouth. “and even more so when it is one that has such great potential as a therapeutic.”

In an appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast, famed mycologist Paul Stamets reported consuming pure baeocystin in the presence of a physician and further reported no psychedelic experience.  “I was ready for liftoff. I was hoping for liftoff, I know what liftoff feels like, and I didn’t get it,” said Stamets of the experience.  Baeocystin’s hydrolysis product and metabolite norpsilocin – which CaaMTech previously crystallographically characterized – was shown by Dr. Sherwood to be a full agonist of the 5-HT2A receptor but does not induce a head twitch response (HTR) in mice.

By solving the crystal structure of baeocystin, CaaMTech scientists have completed fundamental research required to understand baeocystin’s effects. Further determination of the biological effects of baeocystin and its metabolites could provide researchers with key findings necessary to better understand the role of the psychedelic experience in therapeutic benefit and whether non-psychedelic tryptamines may offer unique benefits of their own.

“CaaMTech continues to fill the unmet need for chemical precision when studying compositions such as magic mushrooms,” said Dr. Andrew Chadeayne, CEO of CaaMTech. “We are grateful to work with dedicated scientists Dr. Sherwood and Dr. Manke in filling the unmet need for pure, well-characterized compounds.”

A ball and stick model of the chemical structure of baeocystin
Posted on

CaaMTech Solves Serotonin Crystal Structure

CaaMTech Solves Serotonin Crystal Structure

CaaMTech scientists have followed up their foundational research into the crystal structures of nine serotonin analogues by solving the crystal …

CaaMTech scientists have followed up their foundational research into the crystal structures of nine serotonin analogues by solving the crystal structure of freebase serotonin for the first time. The crystallography was performed through CaaMTech’s collaboration with the Manke Lab at UMass Dartmouth and published in Acta Crystallographica Section E under the title, “Crystal structure of serotonin.” The research fills an important gap in the scientific understanding of one of the human body’s most important neurotransmitters: serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT).

“In studying a series of serotonin analogs, we noticed a fundamental unmet need,” said Dr. Andrew Chadeayne, CEO of CaaMTech, “No one has experimentally determined the solid state structure of serotonin itself.””

Serotonin is one of the most important neurotransmitters in humans. As a result, it is one of biology’s most studied chemical compounds Despite its importance, the crystal structure of freebase serotonin (as it exists in the human bloodstream and brain) has gone unsolved until now.

“Given the importance of serotonin, the limited set of crystallographic data for compounds like these is surprising,” said Dr. David R. Manke, Professor at UMass Dartmouth regarding his previous research on serotonin analogues. “We have come across several situations where solving the crystal structure reveals unexpected discrepancies in a compound’s molecular weight, which could introduce errors in biological studies.”

Dr. Manke’s comments once again highlight the significance of crystallography to downstream scientific research for serotonin and other compounds alike: without knowing the fundamental chemical properties of a compound with the certainty of X-ray crystallography (the gold standard of crystallographic characterization), significant errors can propagate through scientific research.

“When measuring the biological properties of a molecule, it’s essential to know what the molecule is,” explained Dr. Chadeayne, “and with tryptamine compounds, it’s easy to get fooled by different crystalline forms, so it’s best to rely on physical data–especially for a reference standard and baseline comparator like serotonin.”

CaaMTech remains committed to laying the scientific groundwork for psychedelic research through crystallography, chemistry, and fundamental science.