FDA panel evaluates MDMA therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder

Associated media – Associated media

In 2017, the FDA granted “breakthrough” status to MDMA-assisted therapy. Status, a recognition of a drug’s therapeutic promise, aims to shorten regulatory timelines.

The original application was sponsored by the nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, which earlier this year created a for-profit entity, Lykos Therapeutics, to commercialize MDMA if it gained approval. FDA approval.

The application presents an unusual challenge for the FDA, which typically does not regulate drug treatments associated with talk therapy, an essential part of Lykos’ regimen for treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

On June 4, an expert advisory panel will review Lykos’ clinical data, along with public comments and staff analysis, to make recommendations to the FDA. The agency often follows the group’s suggestions, and a final decision is expected by mid-August.

According to a report published in Nature Medicine, about 200 patients in the Lykos clinical trials underwent three sessions, lasting eight hours each, in which about half were given MDMA and the other half a placebo. The sessions were four weeks apart.

Related media – Associated media
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By Robert K. Foster

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