Meet The Molecule: Which Companies Are Working With Ibogaine?

This article was originally published on Microdose and appears here with permission.

Microdose is continuing our Meet The Molecule series, where we take deep dives into some of psychedelic medicine’s more popular compounds. Check some of them out here: What is Molly? An Overview of MDMA & MDMA Therapy in the Modern Psychedelic Renaissance and here Companies Working with MDMA: Exploring the Business of Molly.

Now we set our sights on Ibogaine. Our science specialist Gaurav Dubey has given us a featured look at the molecule with What is Ibogaine? Exploring the Psychedelic Shrub Revolutionizing Addiction Medicine. And today we’ll expand on this with a look at the business side of the compound, giving you a summary of who’s working with Ibogaine and what the future prospects may hold.

Which companies are working with Ibogaine?

“While several psychedelic compounds have shown clinical efficacy in addiction treatment, Ibogaine is rapidly gaining popularity for its powerful ability to interrupt addiction, eliminate withdrawals and even prevent cravings for some time after taking it.

“From special addiction clinics using the compound to companies trying to craft safer, more effective analogs, Ibogaine is quickly gaining attention for its ability to combat addiction.”

An excerpt from our feature on the science of Ibogaine, and a fitting introduction to the business side of the compound. Ibogaine is a powerful psychedelic plant native to west Africa that’s showing serious promise for the treatment of addiction—and this is where the bulk of Ibogaine drug development is currently focused. Let’s take a closer look.

MindMed

Industry leader MindMed has been in the Ibogaine business from the get-go. Actually, Ibogaine was MindMed’s first major development program, acquiring the 18-MC drug back in 2019. MindMed’s 18-MC is based on Ibogaine but has been synthesized to be non-hallucinogenic while still having Ibogaine’s anti-addiction properties.

MindMed’s clinical trial for 18-MC for opioid use disorder is now in Phase II, one of the most advanced trials for addiction in the industry. MindMed has also partnered with Nextage Therapeutics, an Israeli drug development company, to optimize the delivery of drug products based on noribogaine and other ibogaine derivatives.

Atai Life Sciences

The industry’s leader by market capitalization, Atai has 10 subsidiary companies developing a variety of compounds. One of these companies is DemeRx, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing Ibogaine and noribogaine for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Atai has invested in two joint ventures with DemeRx, and the two firms plan to apply for a Phase II study of opioid-dependent patients.

Through DemeRx, Atai has two Ibogaine/Noribogaine compounds in clinical or preclinical stage development.

Universal Ibogaine

Universal Ibogaine is a Canadian company focused on Ibogaine as a solution to the opioid crisis, and their plan is to deliver Ibogaine treatments to their network of addiction treatment facilities.

The company intends to operate and franchise clinics with a seven-day treatment using Ibogaine to break the cycle of addiction. They’re currently running a clinic in Mexico and upon regulatory drug approval, Universal Ibogaine intends to acquire and build a network of addiction treatment clinics across various global markets where the use of ibogaine is legal.

MINDCURE 

MINDCURE has a broad development plan, with molecule research and development; iSTRYM, a software application that provides data-driven support during therapy and optimizes therapeutic outcomes; a line of wellness products; and its minority purchase of ATMA Journey Centers, Canada’s first commercial provider of legal psilocybin-assisted therapy.

The company has also completed the first stage of manufacturing pharmaceutical grade ibogaine to be used in clinical research. With this manufacturing of synthetic ibogaine, MINDCURE’s research team will have access to consistent high-quality supply, and create opportunities for synthetic ibogaine to be used by other researchers conducting clinical trials and, in the future, by clinicians providing psychedelic therapy.

Gilgamesh Pharmaceutical

Gilgamesh is a preclinical biotech company developing next-generation central nervous system drugs inspired by psychedelic medicines.

The company’s pipeline consists of various compounds, from Ketamine derivatives to treat opiate use disorder, to microdoses for ADHD, to a novel Ibogaine analogue for addiction. The company’s Ibogaine drug aims to reduce withdrawal and has rapid onset delivery.

Check out the recordings of The Ibogaine Conference to get deeper insights into the Ibogaine molecule.