We've updated our Privacy Policy to make it clearer how we use your personal data.

We use cookies to provide you with a better experience, read our Cookie Policy

Advertisement
Analytical Cannabis Logo
×
Home > News > Psychedelics > Content Piece

New Psychedelic Drugs May Aid in Reducing Alcohol Consumption

Published: Aug 17, 2021   
Listen with
Speechify
0:00
Register for FREE to listen to this article
Thank you. Listen to this article using the player above.

Psilera, a Florida-based biotechnology company specializing in the clinical development of psychedelics and analogues, is thrilled to begin preclinical studies with its novel drug candidates aimed to reduce alcohol consumption. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a growing addiction that affects 283 million people worldwide and 5.3 percent of all deaths are alcohol related; fewer than 10 percent affected with AUD seek treatment in developed countries.

This ground-breaking study will be the first in vivo screening of these psychedelic-inspired new chemical entities (NCEs) and will be performed by Dr Danielle Gulick’s laboratory at the USF Health Neuroscience Institute at the University of South Florida. Dr Gulick’s lab specializes in addiction, especially alcoholism, and its effects on aging and neuropsychiatric disorders. Psilera will provide up to seven NCEs which will be analyzed to assess efficacy in AUD and psychedelic effects via established preclinical models.

“The growing prevalence of alcohol use disorder, especially in conjunction with the Covid-19 pandemic, needs to be addressed as the current methods of treatment are outdated and insufficient,” said Dr Jackie von Salm, co-founder and CSO of Psilera Inc. “We consider this yet another important step towards our understanding of psychedelic and psychedelic-inspired compounds, and their potential as future medicines in the field of addiction. This in vivo research will provide crucial biological feedback which will further validate our computational efforts with BRAIN to expand towards optimized, next-generation psychedelic treatments.”

In addition to Psilera’s NCEs, the psilocybin compound mimic psilacetin (“4-AcO-DMT”) will be used as a psychoactivity reference and determine its effects on alcohol consumption. Previous preclinical results have shown that 4-AcO-DMT produces effects analogous to psychedelics in humans, while also reducing opioid and nicotine dependences. Psilera will be using 4-AcO-DMT, provided by the Usona Institute’s Investigational & Material Drug Supply Program, to compare with its patent-pending NCEs to determine psychedelic effects or lack thereof and anti-addiction potential.

Psilera has carefully selected their NCEs aided by its proprietary BRAIN dataset for virtual screening and to filter compounds for psychedelic potential at the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor. Reduced activity at this receptor would represent a compelling opportunity to develop therapeutic drugs with limited psychedelic effects and the potential to be administered outside of a clinical setting. These next-generation psychedelic-derived medicines could reach new patient populations in need with greater access.


This article has been republished from materials provided by Psilera. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

 

Like what you just read? You can find similar content on the topic tag shown below.

Psychedelics

Stay connected with the latest news in cannabis extraction, science and testing

Get the latest news with the FREE weekly Analytical Cannabis newsletter

 
Advertisement