Using psychoactive drugs to treat mental disorders and illnesses is a practice steadily entering the mainstream. This is a movement that has had considerable help by the tech-rock stars in Silicon Valley. Late computer hall-of-famer Steve Jobs once said that his rival Bill Gates could have used a trip or two to reach his level of genius.
“[Gates would] be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger,” said Jobs in his self-titled 2011 biography.
Common psychoactive drugs you will hear about are LSD or ‘magic’ mushrooms. When people refer to the mushrooms, they’re talking about the naturally occurring chemical compound found inside them: psilocybin.
Forbes’ Jack Kelly reports that psilocybin is the current choice of Silicon Valley hustlers and other creatives outside the California bubble.
“Joe Rogan, the host of one of the most listened-to podcasts and another California resident, is a big proponent of micro-dosing mushrooms and has had numerous guests on his shows, ranging from scientists to MMA fighters, who have shared their positive experiences from micro-dosing,” Kelly writes.
But such chemical compounds can do more than just enhance your workload or creativity — they have the potential to change lives in treating mental illnesses. Specifically, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and more.
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the green light to carry out clinical research on psilocybin and MDMA (also known as ecstasy). These two compounds were designated as ‘breakthroughs’, which highlights their potential to treat mental health conditions.
These psychotropic compounds alter the level of chemicals emitted in your brain’s neurotransmitters. Symptoms of anxiety and depression can be dramatically dampened when these chemicals are affected.
Trading on the TSX Venture Exchange, emerging biotechnology company
PsyBio Therapeutics (TSX-V:PSYB, Forum) is focused on harnessing the therapeutic characteristics of psilocybin and other naturally occurring chemical compounds. The company was only listed last month and has been flying under the radar.
PsyBio announced on Tuesday March 23rd, a deal with the US Department of Energy National Lab to further develop its biosynthetic formulation of norbaeocystin: a compound that makes up psilocybin. The company will be carrying out its work with the Advanced Biofuels Process Development Unit at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — a 15,000 square-foot facility. The first phase of work has already started.
PsyBio Chief Executive, Evan Levine, says the company’s work under a governmental research facility is a crucial step towards future clinical trials.
“[This agreement] is a continuation of our endeavors to develop more nature-inspired psychedelic therapeutics with improved characteristics and properties versus monotherapy psilocybin which is currently being studied broadly for activity against depression, anxiety, PTSD and substance abuse,” said Levine.
PsyBio Scientific Advisory Board Chairman, Dr J. Andrew Jones, says alternatives to psilocybin are being overlooked.
“In recent years, psilocybin has been broadly accepted as a therapeutic candidate for a variety of health challenges, however, naturally occurring intermediates have not shared similar research attention despite sharing many structural similarities to psilocybin,” he said.
“Our research is based on studying these other metabolites from the biosynthetic pathway to develop superior therapeutics with improved medicinal properties”.
This agreement announced on Monday builds on the company’s quest to form a portfolio of therapeutic candidates to treat mental illnesses — an ongoing collaboration with Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The portfolio consists of entirely plant and fungi inspired samples that carry the psychedelic properties of psilocybin and its lesser compounds. Eventually, they will be used in clinical trials.
Dr Jones expanded on the company’s relationship with Miami University on Monday.
“[Using an] in house vivarium, we have been developing and filing intellectual property on tryptamine combinations that have not previously been studied, yet have demonstrated early indications of unique properties that our team is optimizing for intended clinical use,” he said.
PsyBio is wholly focused on kicking its goals through the pathway of U.S. FDA approval — something that separates it from other companies in the industry. The company also says it uses a unique, and patent pending, method of bacterial-biosynthesis that is cheaper, greener, and faster, than any used by its competition.
Although PsyBio only listed on the TSX-V last month, this is already its second manufacturing deal.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article produced by Stockhouse Publishing.