As interest in psychedelic medicine grows, Big Pharma sits on the sidelines

Image by Ben Johnson from Pixabay

While Big Pharma has yet to embrace psychedelics as potential treatments for depression and other psychiatric disorders, interest in psychedelic medicine is building. 

Earlier this month, Nature Medicine published a Phase 3 study indicating that psychotherapy assisted with methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine (MDMA) was a more effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than therapy alone. The study authors concluded that MDMA yielded a larger effect size than antidepressants Zoloft (sertraline) and Paxil (paroxetine).

The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD in 2017. Approval could come in 2023, according to The New York Times. 

[Related: Debate series considers the therapeutic promise and pitfalls of psychedelics]

Last month, NEJM summarized the results of a Phase 2 study that found that psil…

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