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Last week, representatives of various federal agencies met to discuss new treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including psychedelics. Speakers at the event included representatives from the Veterans Affairs department, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Defense.
The event was hosted by the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA. While it didn’t center on psychedelic-assisted treatments only, many exchanged views on the topic.
During the discussion, those attending acknowledged the potential of psychedelics in treating post-traumatic stress disorder and highlighted the need for further studies to ensure patient safety and drug effectiveness.
For example, Betty Aldworth, MAPS director of communications and post-prohibition strategy, stated that the meeting demonstrated the increasing public interest in psychedelic-assisted treatments. In a statement after the event, Aldworth revealed that the U.S. Veterans Affairs Administration, some members of Congress, patient advocates, trauma experts and some stakeholders all gave testimonies agreeing that the evidence base for psychedelic-assisted treatments warranted even more support.
She added that the time had come to close the gap on new pharmacotherapies for treating post-traumatic stress disorder by bringing psychedelic-assisted treatments into the healthcare system.
Aldworth’s statement comes only weeks after the FDA rejected an application that would have approved the use of MDMA in treating post-traumatic stress disorder. In its decision, the FDA directed that another phase 3 trial be conducted to investigate the effectiveness of MDMA in treating the disorder.
A separate study, whose findings were reported in the “Journal of Psychedelic Studies,” determined that despite encouraging results from clinical trials, more research was needed before MDMA-assisted therapy was adopted as a treatment.
Meanwhile, the VA recently started accepting requests for funding to conduct research on psilocybin and MDMA-assisted treatments for a range of mental-health conditions. The acting director of the Clinical Science, Research and Development Service, Miriam J. Smyth, revealed that opportunities for veterans to volunteer would be announced once the studies began.
In other news, bipartisan legislators held an event at the U.S. Capitol asking that the FDA approve the use of MDMA. The legislators also launched an art installation that memorialized military veterans who have died by suicide.
Meanwhile, amendments to a spending legislation that would permit doctors under Veterans Affairs to issue medical cannabis recommendations to military veterans were recently approved by the U.S. House of Representatives. The amendments also encouraged the department to support research into psychedelic benefits in the treatment of medical conditions that affected military veterans.
As more federal agencies recognize the therapeutic potential of psychedelics in treating a variety of health conditions, more attention is likely to be paid to the work that various entities, such as Compass Pathways PLC (NASDAQ: CMPS), are doing to advance the field of psychedelic medicine.
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