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A san francisco-based biotech company, supported by OpenAI‘S Sam Altmanhas secured government approval to begin clinical trials of a new “safe” mdma,
The company, Arcadia Medicines, which is developing psychoactive drugs to treat mental health disorders, may report early-stage clinical trial results within a year.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the company’s drug, AM1002, for which the company already owns a patent and has received significant support from Altman as well. Fred EhrsamDylan Field, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and billionaire founder of graphics firm Figma.
“Arcadia’s innovative work in developing a safer form of MDMA is an important step toward potentially transformative psychiatric treatments,” Altman said.
The new drug falls into a class of drugs sometimes known as “empathogens” – similar to the existing MDMA, which was first synthesized in 1912, and is widely known as ecstasy in pill form or molly in crystal form. Empathogens are psychoactive drugs that promote feelings of emotional closeness, empathy, and connectedness.
However, in addition to the risk of mixing illegally sold MDMA with other potentially dangerous substances, side effects of MDMA can include overheating, high heart rate, and dehydration.
Arcadia’s website claims that their new formulation is “non-neurotoxic, developed to reduce hyperthermia and have few cardiovascular side effects”, suggesting that traditional MDMA risks may be minimized.
“At Arcadia, we are creating an improved version of MDMA by redesigning the molecule for an improved safety profile and more targeted therapeutic effect, and this IND is a testament to our progress,” Nikita Obidin, founder and CEO of Arcadia Medicines, said in a statement.
“We plan to initiate a clinical trial of AM-1002 in generalized anxiety disorder. We will also continue to develop our broad pipeline of safe and effective mental health treatments, bringing them to patients around the world with the ultimate goal of using them in the most flexible context, such as prescription access at home.”
Altman’s statement in support of the venture comes as the AI guru said the current trajectory of artificial intelligence development means May be closer to a cure for cancer,
In a blog post titled ‘Abundant Intelligence’ last month, the tech billionaire predicted that AI could reach a level that would solve some of the world’s biggest problems.
Influential tech giants have been getting serious with the US government recently with donald trump On his state visit to the UK, where the President and UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer agreed a billion-dollar “tech prosperity deal” as part of a larger investment by US companies.
Independent Arcadia Medicine has been contacted for comment.