“St. Joseph’s University Researchers Seek Approval for Over 200 Novel Psychedelic Drugs for Mental Health Treatment”

St. Joseph’s University Researchers File Patent for Over 200 New Psychedelic Drugs

Inside a laboratory at St. Joseph’s University, a team of researchers believe they have discovered a new class of drugs that could revolutionize the future of psychedelic therapy in health care. The team has filed a patent application for over 200 novel psychedelic compounds, each with the potential to treat a variety of mental health conditions.

Lead chemist Jason Wallach is spearheading the patent application process, hoping to bring these new drugs to consumers. “We can meet unmet medical needs,” Wallach said, speaking from his lab’s office. “How can we diagnose psychiatric conditions and help patients?”

The Future of Psychedelic Therapy

Over the past decade, drugs such as MDMA, LSD, and psilocybin (the active chemical found in magic mushrooms) have shown promise in therapeutic settings. These drugs are being used in clinical trials to treat everything from end-of-life anxiety to PTSD. However, most psychedelics are currently illegal in the United States under federal law, with certain exceptions for those being tested in clinical trials.

The patent application from St. Joseph’s University puts Philadelphia at the forefront of a rapidly evolving medical frontier. Oregon and Colorado recently became the first states to legalize psilocybin therapy through public ballot measures. Just this month, Australia became the first nation in the world to legalize both psilocybin and MDMA.

A New Class of Psychedelic Compounds

The patent application covers a range of chemical compounds classified as “fluorinated tryptamines.” The tryptamine structure is shared by many known and popular psychedelics, including psilocybin and dimethyltryptamine, or DMT.

By revising certain known tryptamine structures and changing the placement of fluorine atoms, Wallach and his lab assistant Michael Dybek say they have found that fluoridation could actually increase psychedelic activity. In lieu of human subjects, Wallach partners with another lab that administers the new compounds to mice. Their head twitches serve as a barometer for psychedelic activity, and using this metric, the new compounds seem very promising.

The Long Road to Clinical Trials

Despite the promising early results, Wallach, Dybek, and the team at Compass Pathways could still be years from clinical trials with human test subjects. Bringing a new drug from the lab to the market can take as long as a decade. However, advocates for psychedelic therapies hope to see the process for securing patents and conducting clinical trials for new drugs expedited.

In 2022, the Biden administration took steps to expedite approvals for these therapies, with some news reports anticipating that treatments with MDMA and psilocybin could be legalized as soon as 2024. The team at the Discovery Center is optimistic about the future of their patent application and the potential impact of their research on the field of psychedelic therapy.

“Previously with this work,” Dybek said, “most people wouldn’t have even known about it, let alone explored it.” Now, with the patent application filed and the research underway, the team at St. Joseph’s University is ready to shape the future of psychedelic therapy.