MindMed, a leading company in the field of pharma-grade psychedelics, is launching a new study aimed at discovering if low-dose LSD can help patients catch their ZZZs.
A biotech based in New York, MindMed already has several psychedelic-inspired compounds in clinical studies, including a low-dose LSD treatment for ADHD and an ibogaine-based treatment that the company says could become an “antibiotic” for opioid addiction.
Now, MindMed says it is recruiting patients for a randomized, placebo-controlled trial that will study the impact of daytime and nighttime dosing of LSD on various sleep measures. For the study, the company will use digital measurement devices and software to see the effects of LSD on “neuroplasticity markers such as BDNF plasma levels.” In addition, the study will also record the impact of low-dose LSD on mood, cognitive performance, immune system response and emotions.
“We are investigating whether the repeated intake of lower doses could lead to realignment of patterns of thinking that would enable individuals to access levels of self-awareness that can provide an enriched experience of life," Dr. Kim Kuypers of Maastricht University, who is leading the study, said.
MindMed also announced last month that it is expanding its pipeline to include the development of MDMA — the active ingredient in the street drug, ecstasy — as a potential treatment for social anxiety and autism.
Although it works with compounds associated with “party drugs,” MindMed has long aimed to develop psychedelic-based therapies like traditional pharma products, and has said that it would never go in the business of selling drugs for recreational use.
