- Study shows that substantial antidepressant effects of psilocybin-based treatment, given with supportive psychotherapy, may last at least a year.
- Psilocybin could lead to significant, durable improvements in depression.
- Cybin is focused on improving overall mental health through psychedelic-based therapies.
Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have released a report noting that psilocybin treatment for major depression is effective for up to a year for many patients (https://ibn.fm/ZF8jH). That bodes well for Cybin (NYSE American: CYBN) (NEO: CYBN), a leading ethical biopharmaceutical company that is focused on revolutionizing mental health care, including major depressive disorder (“MDD”).
“Previous studies by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers showed that psychedelic treatment with psilocybin relieved major depressive disorder symptoms in adults for up to a month,” stated the report, which was published last month in the “Journal of Psychopharmacology.” The article went on to note that “in a follow-up study of those participants, the researchers report that the substantial antidepressant effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy, given with supportive psychotherapy, may last at least a year for some patients.”
One of the researchers, Dr. Natalie Gukasyan, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine, stated, “Our findings add to evidence that, under carefully controlled conditions, this is a promising therapeutic approach that can lead to significant and durable improvements in depression.” She noted that the results are in a research setting and require preparation and structured support from trained clinicians and therapists. “People should not attempt to try it on their own,” Dr. Gukasyan cautioned.
The Johns Hopkins article stated that, during the last two decades, a growing number of studies and research efforts focusing on classic psychedelics has been conducted, including work focused on the pharmacological class of compounds that include psilocybin, a natural-occurring psychoactive compound found in so-called magic mushrooms. “Treatment with psilocybin has shown promise in research settings for treating a range of mental health disorders and addictions,” the article noted.
The follow-up Johns Hopkins study involved 27 participants (19 women, 8 men) with a long-term history of depression, most of whom had been experiencing depressive symptoms for approximately two years before recruitment; a majority of the participants had been treated with standard antidepressant medications, with 58% currently using antidepressants.
The participants were randomly divided into two groups and received treatment either immediately or after an eight-week waiting period. This treatment included preparatory meetings, two doses of psilocybin and follow-up evaluation. According to the article, “The researchers reported that psilocybin treatment in both groups produced large decreases in depression, and that depression severity remained low one, three, six and 12 months after treatment.”
The article quoted Dr. Roland Griffiths, who said that “psilocybin not only produces significant and immediate effects, but it also has a long duration, which suggests that it may be a uniquely useful new treatment for depression. Compared to standard antidepressants, which must be taken for long stretches of time, psilocybin has the potential to enduringly relieve the symptoms of depression with one or two treatments.” Griffiths is the Oliver Lee McCabe III, PhD, Professor in the Neuropsychopharmacology of Consciousness at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and founding director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research.
Cybin is focused on becoming a leader in the psychedelic space. The company currently has three active drug programs targeting major depressive disorder, alcohol use disorder, anxiety disorders and neuroinflammation, as well as 50 novel compounds developed with more than 10 patent filings across three patent families (https://ibn.fm/GSwiS). In terms of investor interest, Cybin has raised C$120 million to date to support its clinical trials and M&A strategy.
In addition, the company is working with a network of world-class partners and internationally recognized scientists to create safe and effective therapeutics for patients to address a multitude of mental health issues. Headquartered in Canada and founded in 2019, Cybin is operational in the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company is focused on progressing psychedelics to therapeutics by engineering proprietary drug-discovery platforms, innovative drug-delivery systems, novel formulation approaches and treatment regimens for mental health disorders.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Cybin.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to CYBN are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CYBN
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