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- Compass Pathways, a company under the radar with scientific monitoring of esteemed scientists, is cranking psilocybin to study the compound in people with depression.
- based start-up has done enough of the active ingredient in magic mushrooms for 20,000 doses.
- Compass is supported by Peter Thiel, an entrepreneur from Silicon Valley, and Tom Insel, the former director of the National Institutes of Mental Health. 19659006] A company under the radar did enough of the active ingredient in magic mushrooms to send 20,000 people on a trip.
Compass Pathways, which is based in London and has an advisory board of eminent scientists, is launching psilocybin to study the compound in people with depression.
This work comes in the midst of a recent resurgence in the study of psychedelic drugs such as fungi and LSD for mental illness. While most research is conducted by universities and non-profit research institutions, Compass, a for-profit company founded in 2016, sees itself as helping to fill the gaps.
The startup attracted funding from big names like Peter Thiel. London-based entrepreneur Christian Angermayer, former hedge fund manager Mike Novogratz and film producer Sam Englebardt.
Compass also obtained scientific oversight from respected researchers like Tom Insel, former director of the National Institutes of Mental Health, and David Nutt, the former British government drug tsar, who is part of his board of directors. # 39; administration.
Thousands of doses of psilocybin
perfectlab / Shutterstock Up to now, Compass claims that it has made two batches of 250 grams of psilocybin, l & rsquo; Equivalent of 20,000 doses of 25 mg of the drug. Although some of them will be tested for stability, the rest has been shaped into capsules. These will soon be shipped to a handful of sites in Europe and North America, where Compass plans to use psilocybin in clinical trials. "We are building on the important work that has already been done in this area, gathering evidence from a broader population to see if psilocybin therapy could provide a breakthrough to help patients," the company said in a statement. a statement.
The study will focus on treatment-resistant depression, which is one of the most difficult forms to treat because people who suffer from it do not respond to traditional treatments or medications. For the trial, which is scheduled to begin in a month, Compass enrolls 216 patients through more than a dozen search sites.
A resurgence of psychedelic research
Psilocybin has become a promising candidate for future treatments for anxiety and depression because it seems to disrupt the kinds of models of brain activity engrained who are the hallmark of these diseases. One study examined the potential of the compound to help relieve anxiety in cancer patients; others have examined the potential effect of psilocybin on depression, PTSD and alcoholism.
Magic mushrooms are not the only psychedelic drug that is generating renewed attention. In the past five years at least, scientific research on the potential therapeutic benefits of psychedelic drugs has been consistent
. A study conducted in 2017 found that ecstasy could help veterans cope with the symptoms of PTSD; and one in 2012 suggested that ketamine may slow down major depression. This series of research ultimately seems to lead to the development of promising potential treatments that could get government approval.
David Nutt, the former chief drug advisor for the British government and a current Compass Pathways advisor, was optimistic about the federal approval process. He told Business Insider last year that he expects to see psilocybin approved as a treatment for depression by 2027.
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