Associate professor Kelan Thomas of the Touro University California College of Pharmacy recently gave presentations during this year’s virtual Sana Symposium and the 2021 Insight conference that focused on the adverse effects of psychedelics and drug-drug interactions respectively. In a recent interview with Alana Hippensteele in the “Pharmacy Times,” Thomas was asked about his insights on the psychedelic space, with a focus on psychedelic medicine.
When queried on the main points or common themes he’d observed in the field, Thomas stated that individuals were starting to consider the best practices to use psychedelics, noting that there was a lot of influence from psychology in this. He explained that psychedelic substances such as esketamine, psilocybin and MDMA, were being used in combination with psychotherapy.
For instance, various clinics had registered benefits when they began using psychotherapy in esketamine clinical trials. Esketamine is manufactured from a drug known as ketamine and is used as a drug for treatment-resistant depression as well as a general anesthetic. The drug treats depression by increasing the levels of a chemical messenger in the brain known as glutamate.
With regard to whether the space was optimizing psychotherapy, Thomas explained that there were trials of mild cases of anxiety and depression which had shown that cognitive processing therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy in post-traumatic stress disorder had similar benefits to prescription drugs. He noted that using both psychotherapy and medications would give the best health outcomes.
In addition to this, the associate professor asserted that that by 2023, MDMA would probably be approved for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder by the FDA; Thomas added that psilocybin would probably receive approval as well for the treatment of depression. He noted that it was important for pharmacists to begin brushing up on the literature, looking at articles on psychedelics and assessing the substances because they may be new therapies on the market soon.
Thomas also added that it was crucial for pharmacists to begin to think about the role they would play in facilitating this transition into a new paradigm of psychiatric treatment, obsergin that the transition would afford pharmacists a new opportunity to collaborate with psychiatrists as well as individuals who were interested in the space. The transition, he continued, promoted a more multimodal approach and the use of interdisciplinary teams, which would help achieve the best outcomes as issues would be solved using team-based care approaches.
The psychedelics space is likely to see a flurry of approved formulations given that many sector players such as Cybin Inc. (NYSE American: CYBN) (NEO: CYBN) are also on the road to developing and commercializing their own formulations targeting various psychiatric indications.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Cybin Inc. (NEO: CYBN) (NYSE American: CYBN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CYBN
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