The medical community is taking a fresh look at psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, with many scientific studies supporting its effectiveness in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and addiction, among other illnesses.
Dedicated to the research, development, and commercialization of psilocybin-based therapies, Mydecine Innovations Group is becoming a leader in this space. The British Columbia-based company has facilitated numerous studies and development initiatives in-house and in collaboration with top research institutions.
This month, Mydecine announced that its research team has developed four lead novel drug candidates, including pure psilocybin from natural fungal sources, an entactogenic compound created with the goal of reducing harm and improving the safety profile compared to traditional MDMA, a psilocybin-based formula with reduced potential to trigger anxiety in patients and a tryptamine compound that could be delivered transdermally with precision dosing and a shortened duration.
"The promise of these molecules is undeniable. By providing scalable, more stable compounds and delivery mechanisms for research and development, it means that new treatments for previously untreatable mental illnesses are close at hand," says Mydecine co-founder and CEO Joshua Bartch.
Dr. Denton Hoyer, drug-discovery expert, and Mydecine Scientific Advisory board member says these natural compounds provide excellent starting points for new compounds that further meet the demands of the clinic and have improved safety, efficacy and formulation properties. "Our research focus on molecular design achieves these goals," he says.
Mydecine holds a full Health Canada Schedule 1 Controlled Drugs and Substances Dealer's Licence and operates a mycology lab in Denver, Colorado. Mydecine will also hold pre-investigational new drug (IND) meetings with the FDA and Health Canada. These meetings will help the company get ready for submitting investigational new drug applications, the first step toward getting approval to begin human clinical trials.
Mydecine's progress comes amid moves to legalize psychedelic substances for medical treatment in the United States and Canada. Synthetic forms of psilocybin, the active compound in magic mushrooms, were given "breakthrough" designation by the FDA in 2018, allowing for fast-tracking of drug trials. A bill to decriminalize psychedelic substances in California introduced in February has passed the Public Safety and Health Committees and will now be reviewed by the Senate Appropriations Committee, after which it would move to Senate floor vote if approved. The bill follows successful efforts to decriminalize these substances in Washington, D.C., Oakland and Santa Cruz. In 2020, Oregon became the first state to legalize psilocybin for medical use.
In Canada, Health Canada has granted some patients and healthcare providers exemptions to use psilocybin and earlier this year, Alberta opened a clinic to use psychedelic therapy to treat mental health conditions and will be a training centre for mental health professionals from across Canada.
"At the heart of our philosophy is that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy will continue to gain acceptance in the medical community," says Bartch. "Mydecine recognizes the responsibility associated
with psychedelic-assisted therapy and will continue to position itself as a long-term leader across the spectrum of clinical trials, research, technology and global supply."
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of sciencetimes.com
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