Trip to Sustainability? This Company Is Developing Synthetic Psychedelics To Attempt to Fight Mental Illness

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The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

Researchers have long experimented with hallucinogenic drugs for the treatment of mental illness.

While many people may be familiar with psychedelic drug advocate Timothy Leary’s experiments with LSD or the known effects of magic mushrooms, what they may not know is that there are a variety of hallucinogens that scientists are studying today in the hopes they will be able to treat addiction and mental illness.

Reportedly among the most promising drugs being studied today is ibogaine, a naturally occurring psychedelic substance derived from the bark and roots of the West African shrub Tabernanthe iboga.

Ibogaine has the potential to treat mental health issues like addiction, depression, and anxiety, but a lack of resources is preventing the research and clinical trials from bringing ibogaine treatment to the United States and Canada.

The legal status of ibogaine varies around the globe. It’s illegal in ten countries, including the United States and nine European countries. It’s regulated in three countries — Australia, Israel, and Canada. Countries that have deemed it legal as a prescription pharmaceutical substance include New Zealand, South Africa, and Brazil. 

As the substance becomes more widely known as a potentially effective treatment for addiction and mental illness, demand for the natural resource could lead to its depletion. Lack of sustainability is one reason ibogaine hasn’t entered mainstream treatment for the conditions it’s believed to help with. The iboga shrub’s root bark contains the highest concentration of ibogaine, and while it’s possible to harvest the root bark without killing the plant, the method used results in slower growth.

The Research Trip

That’s why Mind Cure Health Inc. MCUR has created a synthetic version of the drug that will enable researchers to continue their work without killing the shrubs. MINDCURE, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based life sciences company focused on innovating and commercializing new ways to promote healing and improve mental health, has successfully synthesized ibogaine. The company will be entering pre-clinical trials in Q1 2022 to see if the efficacy of the synthetic version is the same as the semi-synthesized molecule that is currently being used for research purposes.

Earlier this year, MINDCURE announced The Ibogaine Project, a research and development program for manufacturing synthetic ibogaine and conducting preclinical explorations. By manufacturing pharmaceutical-grade ibogaine, MINDCURE wants to provide researchers and clinicians with a sustainable, reliable and regulated supply of the compound to conduct studies and improve knowledge about its potential benefits.

Only a handful of companies are directly working with psychedelics to help solve addiction and mental health issues. Atai Life Sciences ATAI is developing several drugs based on psychedelic substances, including ibogaine and ketamine, and Mind Medicine MNMD is developing 3 clinical-stage programs, 2 of which focus on LSD and the 3rd on ibogaine.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.