Psychedelics Briefs: Wesana Commits $1.5 Million to Support MAPS Research on MDMA-Assisted Therapy for TBI

Wesana Health Holdings announced that it is committing an initial $1.5 million to assessing the viability of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelics Studies’ (MAPS) MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of traumatic brain injuries.

The funding will allow MAPS Public Benefit Corp., a wholly owned MAPS subsidiary, to evaluate the scope of unmet need for TBI treatment and define terms of a joint venture between MAPS and Wesana. Funds will be applied toward legal support for the drafting and finalization of a partnership agreement, business development and executive staff costs in evaluating treatment viability and other research-related expenses.

To date, much of MAPS’s research has focused on MDMA-assisted therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. The first of the organization’s 2 Phase 3 clinical trials has demonstrated a significant reduction in PTSD symptoms for 88% of participants. More than 6.2 million Americans, meanwhile, are estimated to have chronic TBI-related disabilities, along with others who have milder symptoms. In a news release announcing the agreement, MAPS executive director Rick Doblin, PhD, described the TBI patient population as “massively underserved.”

“Consistent with our mission, we seek to investigate treatments for affected patients who can be helped by MDMA—this is an important step in that direction,” Doblin said. 

Per terms of the deal, Wesana is expected to:

• Gain information to design psychedelic-assisted therapy programs for TBI and improve its timeline to eventually having its treatments hit the market
• Explore obtaining a license for exclusivity related to commercial use of MDMA for treatment of TBI
• Evaluate revenue sharing agreements between Wesana and MAPS
• Fund associated research, to be administered by MAPS Public Benefit Corp., with additional capital

Lennham Pharmaceuticals expands psilocybin patent portfolio

Clinical-stage startup Lennham Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has established a new patent family based on discoveries from its preclinical research on psilocybin and its active metabolite, psilocin. The application is directed to methods of using psilocybin and the metabolite in select patient populations and may be applicable to the approved use of any psilocybin-based products, including naturally derived and synthetic psilocybin, as well as psilocybin derivatives and analogs, such as deuterated psilocybin.

Lennham CEO Bradford C. Sippy said in a news release that while psilocybin has shown promise as a potential treatment for major psychiatric diseases and disorder, there is still more to be learned with regards to how it is metabolized.

“In advancing its deuterated psilocybin program, Lennham has discovered that certain patient populations have traits that may affect the metabolism and, consequently, the pharmacological effects of psilocybin and its active metabolite, psilocin,” Sippy said. “We believe that the use of psilocybin or psilocin in these patient populations will likely require a new approach to administration of those products.”