This Week in Psychedelics: atai’s stock tumbles, a new psilocybin bill in New York, Cybin scores a patent, and more

Happy Friday, and welcome back to The Microdose. Here's what happened this week in the world of psychedelics:

Cybin scores a tryptamine patent. Psychedelic pharmaceutical company Cybin announced that the US Patent Office has sent them a notice of allowance (essentially, a heads up that the USPO intends to grant a patent) for CYB004, a “deuterated psychedelic tryptamine” to treat anxiety disorders. 

First thing to know: a tryptamine is a class of compounds that includes psilocybin, DMT and 5-MeO-DMT. This patent covers what Cybin claims is a proprietary formulation of tryptamine: a deuterated tryptamine. To create a deuterated drug, researchers manipulate isotopes in the compound that can change, among other things, how long drug trips last. (For a fuller explanation of what deuterated drugs can do, check out this great explainer from Truffle Report.) In the company’s press release about this development, Cybin’s CEO claims that these deuterated tryptamines could treat patients without the side effects common with some currently prescribed anxiety medications like Prozac or Xanax, which can cause weight gain, GI issues, or withdrawal symptoms. Previously, the company has reported that their deuterated formulation of psilocybin reduces negative side effects like nausea, and can shorten the duration of psychedelic effects, making sessions more manageable. This new patent would be in effect through 2041.

A challenge to Compass patents. In other patent news, psychedelic non-profit Freedom To Operate (FTO) has petitioned the US Patent and Trademark Office for a post-grant review of Compass’s psilocybin patents. In their filing, FTO argues that Compass’s formulation of crystalline psilocybin, which they call Polymorph A, is unpatentable. Rather, FTO says, Polymorph A is actually a mixture of other forms of crystalline psilocybin forms that have already been made elsewhere — and therefore don’t meet the requirement that a patentable formulation must be novel.

To show this, researchers conducted computer modeling and lab studies; a peer-reviewed paper with their data is in press at Acta Crystallographica Section C. (For more on patents, read The Microdose’s interview with psychedelic patent expert Graham Pechenik.) They also analyzed archival, decades-old samples of psilocybin from Johns Hopkins and, as reported by VICE’s Shayla Love, even a 1963 bottle from National Institute on Drug Abuse Drug Supply Program.

FTO has made no secret of their opposition to Compass’s intellectual property strategy; a letter from founder Carey Turnbull on the organization’s site lays out his objections, so the FTO spearheading this challenge is hardly a surprise. The USPTO’s ruling on this could set precedent for the burden of evidence needed to grant new psychedelic patents, and could give others a foothold to challenge other recently granted patents. (The USPTO’s rules stipulate that challengers have up to 9 months to submit a petition after a patent is granted.)

atai’s stock tumbles. In June 2021, psychedelic pharmaceutical company atai Life Sciences went public, offering shares at $15; in the days following the company’s debut on the Nasdaq, prices reached nearly $20 a share. As of Friday morning, that number has dipped down to around $7.50. Major shareholders committed to a six-month “lock-up period,” which prevented them from selling shares; that period wrapped up on Wednesday.

In the midst of the company’s falling stock prices, German investor Christian Angermayer, atai’s founder, publicly stated his commitment to the company. In a LinkedIn post, he announced that he and several other investors would voluntarily extend their lock-up for another two years, accounting for roughly 30% of the company’s common shares. Whether this renewed lock-up helps the company regain investors’ trust in the long term is yet to be seen.

There has never been a more exciting – or bewildering – time in the world of psychedelics. Don’t miss a beat.

New York’s new medicinal psilocybin bill. New York could be the next state to legalize psilocybin for medicinal purposes. On Monday, New York assemblyman Pat Burke filed A8569, a bill that would establish infrastructure for cultivating psilocybin mushrooms, as well as licensing treatment centers and lab testing of psilocybin for medicinal use. The bill, which resembles Oregon’s Measure 109, also includes a $2 million grant program to help veterans and first responders gain access to treatment. 

Psychedelics on Instagram. In July 2021, Instagram removed a photo of ayahuasca posted by a Brazilian spiritual school. Its automated systems identified the photo as a violation of its policies, and Instagram said it was removed because it encouraged the use of ayahuasca, which could harm public health. Recently, the Oversight Board, which oversees content moderation at Facebook and Instagram, overturned Instagram’s decision, saying the post did not violate Instagram’s policies. 

The photo-sharing site’s policies cover the “sale and purchase of illegal or prescription drugs,” but the Oversight Board concluded this post merely spoke positively about ayahuasca. Furthermore, the board wasn’t sold on Instagram’s claim that removing such a post protected public health. “The user did not post instructions for using ayahuasca or information about its availability,” the board wrote in their decision. “To respect diverse traditional and religious practices, the Board recommends that Meta change its rules on regulated goods to allow positive discussion of traditional or religious uses of non-medical drugs which have a recognized traditional or religious use.” This decision sets important precedent for future Facebook and Instagram posts on psychedelics: there is now little doubt that users will be able to freely post about traditional or religious uses of these drugs. 

Australia rejects proposal to loosen restrictions on MDMA and psilocybin. In Australia, the Department of Health’s Therapeutic Goods Administration has blocked a proposal to legalize psilocybin and MDMA for medicinal use. Currently, psilocybin and MDMA are both classified as prohibited substances; the proposal would have downgraded them to controlled substances. The proposed amendment would have also allowed psilocybin and MDMA to be imported and manufactured as therapeutic goods, and to be used by addiction specialists or psychiatrists in treatment. The TGA acknowledged burgeoning evidence that psilocybin could be effective in treating depression and that MDMA could help treat PTSD, but felt that such evidence was not yet strong enough to merit down-scheduling the drugs.

• Rolling Stone reports on the Fireside Project’s Psychedelic Peer Support Line. (Read The Microdose’s interview with Fireside’s co-founder Hanifa Nayo Washington here.)

• CBC reports that another three patients have received exemptions from the Canadian minister of health to receive psilocybin therapy. 

• Amanda Knox — yes, that Amanda Knox — has turned her focus towards writing, art, and podcasting. She and her husband, Christopher Robinson, documented her pregnancy on their podcast Labyrinths — and they’ve just begun a new 7-part series exploring the “history, neuroscience, politics, and power of psilocybin mushrooms.” 

• Looking for a gift for the psychonaut in your life? Jezebel has compiled a gift guide for anyone who’s curious about psychedelics.

  

You’re all caught up! Have a great weekend, and stay tuned on Monday for 5 Questions, our weekly Q&A with a leader in the psychedelics space.

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