A Review of the Food and Drug Administration Pipeline and Proposed California Legislation on Medicinal Psychedelics.
The Permanente journal – March 14, 2025
Source: PubMed
Summary
As medicinal psychedelics advance through the FDA pipeline, new treatments could transform mental health care. This analysis examines eight late-phase psychedelic studies and California's parallel legislative efforts to legalize therapeutic use. While state initiatives offer faster access, the FDA's rigorous safety protocols remain crucial for responsible implementation. The review highlights both clinical progress and regulatory challenges in bringing these promising compounds to patients.
Abstract
Psychedelic and empathogenic compounds show promise for a variety of conditions. However, studying these compounds can be highly complex, be very expensive, and have substantial patient safety concerns. Here, the authors will review 8 late-phase medicinal psychedelic studies in the Food and Drug Adminisration (FDA) approval pipeline. The authors will include a review of the FDA's recent denial of the New Drug Application for 3-4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine with adjuvant psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder from Lykos Therapeutics of San Jose, California (formerly the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies Public Benefit Corporation). Additionally, the authors will discuss the parallel legislative proposals in California to legalize psychedelic compounds for adult use. These legislative efforts reflect an alternative and less expensive pathway, but they do not make as thorough of an evaluation for drug safety. The authors will propose that the FDA remains the appropriate agency to evaluate and approve the use of this class of proposed therapeutics.