National Institute On Drug Abuse To Research Ayahuasca's Active Ingredient DMT In Partnership With Psilera Inc.

Psilera Inc., a Florida-based biotech company specializing in the psychedelics sector, announced a “research and development agreement” with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for the launch of a series of preclinical studies on Psilera’s psychedelic drug pipeline.

The pipeline includes an intranasal formulation of N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), the active ingredient in ayahuasca, a ceremonial hallucinogenic drink from the Amazon basin.

The company recently closed $2.5 million in funding for research, scientific and clinical personnel hiring and general working purposes.

NIDA is a federal scientific research institute under the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Michael Baumann, Director of the Designer Drug Research Unit at NIDA, and postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Grant Glatfelter, will collaborate with Psilera to research the company’s new chemical entities.

“This collaboration serves as validation to our approach and scientific reputation within the psychedelic and biotech industry more broadly,” said Dr. Chris Witowski, co-Founder and CEO of Psilera.

The research collaboration will focus its efforts in two programs. One will study pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of an intranasal formulation of DMT developed by Psilera, in preclinical animal studies.

“It is important for us to understand how DMT and any similar compounds Psilera makes will potentially work in the body to avoid undesirable effects or potential for misuse. The research in collaboration with NIDA will greatly enhance our understanding of these pharmacological properties and aid our future studies targeting alcohol use disorder,” said Dr. Jackie von Salm, Co-Founder and CSO of Psilera.

The second initiative will determine the molecular targets of new chemical entities developed by Psilera, which will inform the company’s future drug development pipeline.

Photo courtesy of Psilera.