MindMed (NASQAD: MNMD) recently announced the start of Phase 1 clinical trials, assessing the safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of DMT. The drug is a naturally occurring psychedelic and an active ingredient in ayahuasca. MindMed is a leading biotech company reputed for making psychedelic-inspired therapies.
Collaborating with Liechti LAb
The results of Phase 1 are expected to guide how Phase 2 clinical trials will be conducted on patients. The investigations in the trials are part of an ongoing partnership between MindMed and UHB Liechti Lab and are led by Dr. Matthias Liechti. The Phase 1 clinical trials have received all the necessary approvals from the Swedish government, and subject enrollment has begun.
MindMed is exploring DMT’s potential as a drug, given its short-acting capabilities as a psychedelic. The company plans to start an intravenous administration method in Phase 1 clinical trials to give the subjects a more extended DMT experience.
The intravenous method may also allow better control of the patient experience and enable acute termination of psychoactive characteristics of DMT. The drug’s administration has a rapid onset and offsets compared to similar psychedelic substances like LSD.
Dr. Miri Halperin Wernli, president of MindMed, said that the company was very excited to begin the study with Professor Matthias Liechti and University Hospital Basel. At the moment, no studies validly determine the elimination half-life of DMT or other pharmacokinetic parameters. Dr. Wernli added that the study would provide valuable information on DMT as a substance and play a role in future studies of DMT as a mind alteration tool. The company is also studying various other psychedelics as part of a long-term mission to discover and utilize psychedelics in therapies and medicines to treat mental illnesses. Their data-driven approach inspires their choices to develop both classical psychedelics and the next generation of novel chemical entities.
What the trials intend to achieve
The trial aims to assess the safety, tolerability, and dose-response of DMT in human subjects. Phase 1 will include 30 healthy subjects in a randomized, double-blind, 5-period crossover, placebo-controlled design.