Next-Generation Psychedelics Shows Promise With Upcoming Clinical Trials

Biopharma R&D company Mindset Pharma Inc. MSSTF has performed preclinical screening studies and selected MSP-2020 as the lead psychedelic drug clinical candidate and MSP-2003 as the second backup drug candidate, both belonging to its Family 2 next-gen psychedelic drug program done in collaboration with The McQuade Center for Strategic Research and Development LLC (MSRD), to advance to Investigational New Drug (IND) enabling studies expected to commence in late 2022.

Mindset is developing several novel families of next-gen psychedelic compounds, for which it has entered into a co-development agreement with the MSRD, a member of the Otsuka Pharmaceuticals family of companies, for its short-duration compounds included in Families 2 and 4.

Both MSP-2020 and MSP-2003 exhibited a stronger and shorter-acting psychedelic effect than first-generation drugs in preclinical testing. The novel compounds are covered under the USPTO-granted “3-Pyrrolidine-Indole Derivatives as Serotonergic Psychedelic Agents for the Treatment of CNS Disorders” patent.

More specifically, when compared to psilocybin and psilocin, the two drug candidates have proved to penetrate the Central Nervous System (CNS) and exhibited high oral bioavailability in different species, showing in vitro and animal responses consistent with a stronger and shorter-acting psychedelic effect than psilocybin and a significantly reduced half-life. 

Mindset Pharma’s CEO James Lanthier stated: “The preclinical results continue to support our belief that next-generation psychedelic drug compounds have the potential to be superior treatment options for mental health. Our teams continue to advance our collaboration to bring this innovative therapeutic into first-in-human clinical development and ultimately to patients in medical need as rapidly as possible.”

Photo courtesy of Olia Danilevich on Pexels.