ZURICH - Connoisseurs of magic mushrooms can attest to the power of psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient of these funky fungi. Bad or good, they say, the experience is always intense. Whether investor Peter Thiel has had first-hand experience is of little import. The Donald Trump-supporting entrepreneur who made billions from Facebook is, nonetheless, determined to make another small fortune by convincing depressed people that ’shrooms will help them.
Psychedelics are now seen as a potential avenue for new therapeutic discoveries in the treatment of mental illness. Money is pouring into the sector, with Thiel and Atai Life Sciences backing Compass. Another firm focused on using ibogaine to help patients with opioid addiction, Mind Medicine, listed in Toronto in March with backers including Bruce Linton, the founder of cannabis-biggie Canopy Growth and “Shark Tank” TV host Kevin O’Leary.
Patients wear eye visors and listen to music designed to accompany the various stages of the drug’s effects. It’s preceded and followed by sessions with the therapists “to help patients process the range of emotional and physical experiences,” according to the prospectus. Early-stage trials have shown promise in helping some patients.
Then there are the legal and stigmatic hurdles. Ever since Leary and his merry pranksters were booted from Harvard and moved on to Zihuatanejo, Mexico and then Millbrook, New York, research into psychedelics has been frowned on by many scientists. Their illegal nature kept them off limits to Big Pharma. For COMP360 to be made available commercially in the United States, “legislative or administrative action” may be required, Compass warns.
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