Could Magic Mushrooms Be A Solution For Overeating? New Clinical Trial Intends To Find Out

Psilocybin, the active ingredient in “magic mushrooms,” could be part of the solution for people struggling with binge eating disorder, a condition characterized by recurring episodes of eating large quantities of food and feeling unable to stop.

Tryp Therapeutics, Inc. TRYPF, a biotech company in the psychedelics space, has dosed the first patient in a phase 2 study looking at this psychedelic compound in the treatment of binge eating disorder (BED).

The trial also includes psychotherapy using protocols developed in conjunction with Fluence, an education and research platform in the psychedelics space.

According to Tryp, nearly 30% of people seeking weight loss treatments show signs of this condition.

As covered by Benzinga, Tryp received authorization to conduct the study in December 2021. The trial uses TRP-8802, an oral capsule containing 25mg of synthetic psilocybin, developed without IP protection.

The company chose to use a non-proprietary version of the drug “to quickly initiate clinical trials to generate initial data” while developing an improved, proprietary formulation and delivery system for psilocybin, called TRP-8803. 

"This is a key study for our psilocybin-assisted therapy portfolio as we assess the effectiveness of TRP-8802 (oral psilocybin) to treat patients with BED,” said Dr. Jim Gilligan, chief scientific officer and interim CEO of Tryp Therapeutics. 

“We believe that psilocybin-assisted therapy has the potential to offer a new therapeutic treatment for BED, a disorder that devastates the lives of over 250,000 people each year," Gilligan added.

Photo by Jarritos Mexican Soda on Unsplash.