Another Win For Non-Hallucinogens: Meet Psilera's Candidates Poised For Clinical Stage Milestone

Next-gen therapeutics developer Psilera Inc. has achieved a preclinical milestone by having all its first cohort of drug candidates, designed and synthesized in-house, show no hallucinogenic effects in animals.

The group includes six patent-pending compounds with novel structural features across four compound families, which had already shown promise in alleviating mood disorders, improving learning and memory, and curbing alcohol addiction in preclinical screenings.

These results further support the notion that therapeutic benefits are not solely linked to hallucinations and shed light on the potential of neuroplasticity-inducing compounds or "psychoplastogens." First-in-human trials are expected to begin in 2024.

Also, non-hallucinogenic drugs offer greater benefits compared to first-generation or “classical” ones in terms of patentability, and potentially regarding take-home dosing, payer coverage and patient accessibility. 

Psilera’s machine-learning platform, Psilera Third Eye was trained with the mentioned preclinical results toward helping build a new class of drug candidates for which the company has filed provisional patents.

Co-founder and CEO Dr. Chris Witowski said the team achieved its goal by building “an extensive compound library” to remove hallucinations as a side effect while retaining the desired effects, and added they expect to get their lead compound into clinical trials “with the potential to be a first-in-class medicine."

Benzinga’s PCC

The second edition of Benzinga’s Psychedelics Capital Conference is almost here! 

When and where? April 13th at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel. 

This is thee place to set up deals, raise money, meet investors and key partners and learn from the industry’s greatest.

Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Bacsica, aiyoshi597, Gisele Yashar and Gorodenkoff on Shutterstock.