Jim Cramer Slams Political Blocking Of 'LSD-Derived Antidepressants,' Citing Strong Test Data 'Showing They Worked'

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Jim Cramer recently hyped up one of his guests in advance of his CNBC show "Mad Money," posting on X that people "will be very interested in MindMed for certain … LSD," and he made sure his interview did not disappoint.

Mind Medicine Inc. MNMD sees a massive market opportunity ahead, citing 21% of U.S. adults with an anxiety disorder, an estimated 4.4% of U.S. adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a $461 billion economic cost from autism spectrum disorder by 2025.

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While the conditions they're seeking to treat are not new, MindMed's plan to treat patients with LSD and MDMA-derived therapies could be described as unconventional.

But its story has gained investors' attention. MindMed shares have had an impressive run this year, with its stock up over 167% year to date.

One reason for the stock's recent jump was the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to grant breakthrough designation for MindMed's LSD-based treatment for generalized anxiety disorder.

MindMed Chief Medical Officer Dr. Daniel Karlin described the achievement, saying, "A breakthrough designation is a recognition that a drug has demonstrated evidence of clinical efficacy in meeting an unmet medical need" and called it "an offer from the agency to engage more closely in drug development."

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Following the interview, Cramer suggested that scientific advances in psychedelics-based therapy are taking a backseat to political agendas, posting on X that "Mindmed.com intrigued me because it is pretty clear that the LSD-derived antidepressants were blocked politically and criminalized after good tests showing they worked!!!"

MindMed reported results from its phase IIB trial of its MM-120 drug, an LSD-derived therapy, which showed a 78% clinical response against anxiety versus just 31% for a placebo.

Only "transient mild-to-moderate" adverse effects were reported, with none of the study's participants in even the highest trial doses stopping the trial because of side effects.

"These promising findings represent a major step forward in our goal to bring a paradigm-shifting treatment to the millions of patients who are profoundly impacted by GAD [generalized anxiety disorder]," MindMed CEO Robert Barrow said. 

MindMed's shares still have a long way to go to get back to its 2021 peak, with the stock down nearly 84% since then.

The stocks of other companies developing psychedelic-derived therapies, such as ATAI Life Sciences ATAI and Compass Pathways CMPS, also remain well off their peaks.

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