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What are PsychoceuticalsTM?
PsychoceuticalsTM are psychotherapeutic pharmaceuticals. Psychoactive and even psychedelic molecules or formulations found to be useful in psychotherapy. Examples of psychoceuticals include psilocybin, ayahuasca, ketamine, LSD, DMT, MDMA. Some of these occur in plants and animals, others have been optimised using chemistry.
The light at the end of the tunnel
Humanity’s coming of age has meant lifting the taboo on psychoactive drug research, with realisations that not only cannabis, but many psychoactive plants can be used beneficially in a full range of health applications.
Beginning with MDMA for PTSD and trauma related illness, ketamine for long term relief of depression, through to psilocybin and LSD for neuroplasticity in stroke and other mental health recovery applications, psychoactive drugs, previously misunderstood are now finding their place as preferred tools in psychotherapy due to the therapeutic outcomes seen, where rapid emotional processing of events is facilitated in a way not possible with the previous medications which prohibited emotional processing.
Applications for psychoceutical medicines
- Trauma related illness including PTSD.
- Cancer related psychiatric distress.
- Treatment resistant depression.
- Couples therapy.
- Addiction and discontinuation.
Our Expertise
BioPharm team members have been working with psychoceutical development since 2002. Beginning with developing psychostimulants for use in amphetamine (crystal meth) substitution. We held patent for ecstasy replacement drug EASE, which was trialled in NZ with more than half the 1000 trial members preferring it to street ecstasy, but a number of users commenting that it improved their ability to resolve issues in primary relationship, prompting us to realise new applications.
We have developed hundreds of molecules with with many novel distinct structures in similar areas to cannabinoids, lysergamides, tryptamines arylcyclohexylamines (like ketamine) and phenethylamines.
Our current drug discovery methods have expanded to include AI intuited structures and proprietary chip based receptor screening platform.
What is the opportunity?
Psychedelic medicine is trending, due to restrictions being lifted on research in this area and then a wide range of research indicating therapeutic efficacy in treating many mental health related issues, including OCD, addiction and discontinuation issues, depression, anxiety, trauma related illness, end of life anxiety, chronic pain.
Each of these areas have existing pharmaceutical interventions which provided symptomatic relief without treating root causes, which psychedelic compounds are able to address effectively meaning meaningful change can occur, and ongoing dependence on symptomatic relief can cease. Commerically each application may mean a psychoceutical may replace an existing medication from the market, making this a multibillion dollar opprtunity.
