CSIRO Collaborating With Australian Pharma to Develop Medicinal Psychedelics

Ecstasy tablets which may contain MDMA (DEA)

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has received a license to work with local Australian biomedical companies to “extract, synthesise, improve and then develop manufacturing processes” for up to 15 different psychedelic compounds.

The organisation will first be collaborating with Melbourne Natural MedTech which is “working to develop psychedelic treatments for several unmet neurological disorders,” said Natural MedTech CEO Mark Hestermann.

The company is working with CSIRO’s Kick-Start program to further explore psychedelics, also known as hallucinogens derived from plants and fungi for medical use.

“By working with local industry to improve drug design and the patient experience, CSIRO can push Australia into a leadership position in the development of these potentially life-changing medications,” said CSIRO scientist Peter Duggan on May 18.

Currently, psychedelics such as methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or commonly known as ecstasy) and psilocybin (commonly derived from magic mushrooms) are undergoing research both in Australia and internationally for potential use in treating mental illnesses.

“Clinical trials both here and internationally have been using known psychedelics – usually MDMA or psilocybin with impressive results, but there’s still much to be learnt about how these drugs work and how improvements to their chemical composition could enhance patient outcomes,” Duggan said.

It is currently estimated that one in every five people will suffer from mental health each year, with some studies suggesting that more than a third of sufferers may not respond to existing treatments.

“CSIRO is well-placed to contribute to this emerging area of research, which could lead to life-changing advancements in mental health,” said Duggan.

The news of CSIRO’s interest in hallucinogens is not a first for the science community; during the 1950s and 1960s classic psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD were brought under the media and academic spotlight for their potential in psychotherapy with more than 1,000 research papers and 40,000 subjects as a consequence of these studies.

However, the media and academic attention popularised these drugs, making them soon illegal in the mid-1960s.

Recent research has once again brought psychedelics under the spotlight, with growing interest from investors and medical-health entrepreneurs. In 2021, a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind gold standard trial on MDMAs found the drug to be effective in treating post-traumatic stress disorder. Another study in 2021 also observed the benefits of psilocybin in treating depression.

However, some experts are concerned about the ethical implications that could arise due to psychedelics being used as a medical treatment option.

“Psychedelics can have lingering effects that include increased suggestibility and affective instability, as well as altered ego structure, social behaviour, and philosophical worldview,” Assoc. Prof. Brian Anderson from the University of California wrote in 2020.

Due to the experience psychedelics give, it can induce a “vulnerable state” for patients both during and after treatment and grow an attachment to their administrators.

Further, though it has not been confirmed if psychedelics such as psilocybin and ecstasy induce physical dependency commonly associated with addiction, the substances induce increased dopaminergic activity in the brain, linked with psychological dependence on the drug.

Studies on mice models have shown that psychedelics can induce both structural and functional changes in the cortical nerves.

Psilocybin and LSD exposure also induces increased activity in sensory regions of the brain but induces disintegration of associated brain regions which are responsible for higher functions such as thoughts, perception and decision making.

“For the sake of patient safety and wellbeing, let us fulfil our responsibility to develop and implement elevated standards of clinical training, quality assurance, and peer-review for these wondrously disruptive medicines,” the authors concluded