Psyched: $20M Research Fund, LSD Microdosing For Cancer, MEAI Enters Clinical Stage, Reform Update & More

Researchers At Johns Hopkins Get $20M Fund Prompted By Longtime Psychedelics Scientist

Johns Hopkins University academics received a boost in funding thanks to the recently launched Roland R. Griffiths Ph.D. Professorship Fund.

Featured in the New York Times, Griffiths is a psychopharmacologist and professor of neuroscience, psychiatry and behavioral studies. He is the founding director of the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at the same institution where he is now passing the torch for others to keep advancing the science of psychedelics. Read more HERE.

LSD Microdosing To Ease Cancer-Related Distress: Phase 2 Clinical Trial Gets Green Light

Australia-based MindBio Therapeutics Corp., an ex-subsidiary to Blackhawk Corp. received ethics approval for a Phase 2 clinical trial assessing the effects of LSD microdoses paired with meaning-centered psychotherapy for patients with advanced-stage cancer.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study follows positive outcomes from a Phase 1 trial on healthy volunteers including increases in energy, social connectivity, creativity, wellness and happiness as well as tolerance to the LSD microdoses. Read more HERE.

Clearmind Medicine Secures Approval To Launch Clinical Trial For Alcohol Addiction Treatment

Clearmind Medicine Inc. CMND, an Israeli biotech company received approval from the IMCA center’s Ethics Committee for the announced Phase 1/2 clinical trial assessing its proprietary MEAI-based compound, CMND-100, for the treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD.) Clearmind discovers and develops novel psychedelic-derived therapeutics for major undertreated health problems.

The Ethics Committee is the European and Israeli equivalent of the IRB in the U.S. of the IMCA center operating under the Declaration of Helsinki regulations and other international conventions around medical experiments on humans. It must authorize, review and monitor medical research and trials involving human subjects. Exclusive comments and more HERE.

Washington State Moves Toward Legalizing Psilocybin Therapy As Gov Inslee Approves Pilot Program

Governor Jay Inslee (D) approved a Senate proposal promoting psilocybin research and a pilot program assessing it as a mental health treatment.  

The Washington Psilocybin Services Act or SB5263 was amended several times in its passage through both chambers before arriving at the governor’s desk on April 20, where it was again modified by a partial veto that Inslee said “no longer aligns with the bill’s intent,” reported Marijuana Moment. Read more HERE.

Other news on state-level psychedelics reform includes Arizona governor’s approval of an appropriations bill including a $5 million grant for psilocybin research, Connecticut’s decriminalization measure, Maine’s “Psilocybin Health Access Act,” Vermont’s psilocybin legalization and advisory working group and Missouri’s bill on psilocybin research.

The Milestone Round

• COMPASS Pathways CMPS, GH Research GHRS, atai Life Sciences ATAI, IntelGenx Technologies IGXT and Filament Health FLHLF reported their first quarter financial outcomes and provided operational updates.

• Optimi Health OPTHF was granted a new Health Canada production license and closed a new supply deal for its GMP natural psilocybin.

• Silo Pharma SILO has received a US patent covering IP on its ketamine-based SPC-15.

• Private platform Terran Biosciences has filed four international patent applications covering improved versions of classic empathogens like MDMA.

• FSD Pharma HUGE has completed dosing of its first participant cohort of its Phase 1 trial on the next-gen compound Lucid-MS targeting Multiple Sclerosis (MS.)

• Cybin CYBN has finished dosing the last participant in group 2 of 3 at its Phase 1 DMT trial for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD.)

• Private biotech Delix Therapeutics has begun a Phase 1 trial on its non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogen compound DLX-001.

• Oregon’s first licensed psilocybin service center announced initial therapy prices.

• Kaya Group NUGL launched a new psilocybin chocolate bar.

• Some reflections on what we can learn from legal psychedelics markets as discussed in Benzinga’s Psychedelics Capital Conference this year.

• Learn why Psyched Wellness PSYCF co-founder and CEO says now is the time to invest in psychedelics and how psychedelics retreats are entering the mainstream.

• Zappy Zapolin’s takeaways from the 2023 Milken Global Conference, “a hub of innovation and connection,” plus recent microdosing and rescheduling events.

• The enigmatic drug from the Japanese anime 'Detective Conan:' The mystery behind Apotoxin

See Also: Last Week's Edition Of 'Psyched'

Psychedelics ETF Weekly Performance:

AdvisorShares Psychedelics ETF PSIL opened Monday, May 15 at $1.70 following Monday 8’s opening at $1.74 and Friday 12’s closing at $1.72. The week’s highest was $1.78 and lowest was $1.72, a small recovery from prior week’s low $1.70. 

For this ETF, the yearly price range is set between $4.35 and $1.65.