A Vancouver-based psychedelic drug development company, NeonMind Biosciences, is studying the active ingredient in magic mushrooms to treat obesity.
CEO Rob Tessarolo says, "What we know is that psilocybin does in fact activates seretonin receptors and we know that seretonin can in fact curb cravings, it can shut off appetite, and it can reduce eating. As such, that's what our pre-clinical studies have been designed to demonstrate. From that we'll design human studies to see what the affects are in people."
Tessarolo says they are currently conducting a pre-clinical trial at UBC.
"Psilocybin has the potential to serve as a new and different tool to help people lose weight and maintain their weightloss by basically changing the neuropathways and reset the behaviour and the cognition that link to different stresses that cause eating behaviour."
The CEO notes there aren't many options available for treatment at this time.
"Any new treatment modality that could potentially have an impact is going to be very, very well received in this marketplace. That's one of the reasons we're so excited about this novel concept of using psychadelic medicine to help with these conditions."
Tessarolo says they hope to start in-human clinical trials in the first half of this year.