The EU announced that it will fund a new psychedelics study focused on patients with four currently incurable diseases: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and atypical Parkinson’s disease.

This is the first time the EU has fully funded a study of psychedelic medicines, awarding more than $7 million through the EU’s Horizon Europe program. Here’s more: https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-funds-first-psychedelic-study-in-patients-with-incurable-diseases/

Cybin announced that the FDA cleared its investigational new drug application for CYB004, its proprietary DMT molecule in development for the treatment of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

This clearance allows the company to proceed with its plans to initiate a Phase 2a study of CYB004 in Q1 2024. The Phase 2a study will be a randomized, double-blind, active-controlled trial to assess the preliminary clinical efficacy, safety, and tolerability of CYB004 in participants with GAD. Check it out: https://ir.cybin.com/investors/news/news-details/2024/Cybin-Announces-FDA-Clearance-to-Initiate-a-Phase-2a-Study-of-CYB004-in-Generalized-Anxiety-Disorder/default.aspx

Lawmakers in Maine held a hearing on a bill to legalize psilocybin, allowing adults to access the psychedelic at licensed facilities while broadly ending the criminalization of personal use and possession of psilocybin.

What made this hearing particularly interesting, however, was that two of the lawmakers at the hearing discussed their own personal psychedelics use.

Here’s what Representative David Boyer said …

“It’s helped me get more in touch with myself and my feelings, and I think it would really benefit a lot of people.”

And Representative Laura Supica shared that she has used psilocybin, saying that there’s “strong merit” in recent research for its potential therapeutic application. You can read more about Maine’s proposed legislation here: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/maine-lawmakers-hold-hearing-on-psilocybin-bill-as-committee-members-disclose-personal-psychedelics-use/

Did you know that researchers are now using AI to find thousands of new psychedelic medicines?

They’re using a protein-structure-prediction tool called AlphaFold to identify hundreds of thousands of potential new psychedelic molecules, which could help to develop new kinds of antidepressants.

The research shows, for the first time, that AlphaFold predictions — available at the touch of a button — can be just as useful for drug discovery as experimentally derived protein structures, which can take months, or even years, to determine. It’s absolutely fascinating technology. Check it out: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00130-8