Investing in medicinal psychedelic research in the recent past was considered risky. Now, however, financiers and entrepreneurs are injecting money into the development of psychedelic therapies for behavioral and mental health issues. Despite this, one of the biggest public financiers of medical research in the world — the National Institutes of Health — is yet to do so.
The organization’s absence in psychedelic medicine may potentially be slowing the development of new innovative treatments as well as preventing researchers from entering the field.
Records show that various human populations have used psychedelics such as psilocybin, mescaline, MDMA, LSD, ibogaine, DMT and ayahuasca, just to name a few, for centuries. However, these substances made their way into Western medicine only recently, starting to show up in the ’50s and ’60s.
During this time, psilocybin and LSD were utilized in the enhancement of psychotherapy, before being classified as Schedule I drugs in the ’70s. This made their use illegal in both recreational and medical realms, with research on the substances being halted as well. However, a few years ago, philanthropic organizations and researchers begun conducting research on these substances once more, which led to the discovery of the various potentials that psychedelics possess.
For instance, results published earlier this year found that MDMA, which is commonly known as ecstasy, is effective in the treatment of PTSD. Many are hopeful that the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (“FDA”) may soon approve the use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.
These findings and many others have prompted venture capital firms to increase their investments in psychedelic biotech startups, with data showing that investments grew from $1 million in 2017 to more than $300 million in 2021. This is why it’s surprising that the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) is yet to finance any research work in the field, despite the support for medicinal psychedelic research in the psychiatric field. The organization’s reluctance will continue to hinder psychedelic medicine progress, even with private financing materializing.
Apart from this, the institute’s lack of involvement is also limiting biopharmaceutical firms that depend on it to finance high-risk foundational research, which would enable them to center on drug development. If the NIH did decide to fund psychedelic research, it would allow the industry to develop psychedelic medicines for various conditions, including personality disorder, vegetative states and functional neurological disorder. However, pilot data is lacking.
Fortunately, the NIH seems to be changing its course, having recently awarded its first grant for medicinal psychedelic research earlier in April.
As the interest of the NIH in psychedelics grows, its work will add onto the contributions being made by publicly traded firms such as Cybin Inc. (NEO: CYBN) (OTCQB: CLXPF), which are looking to use psychedelics to revolutionize the way mental health conditions are treated.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Cybin Inc. (NEO: CYBN) (OTCQB: CLXPF) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CYBN
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