Where do Psychedelics Fit in the Future of Psychiatry?

In part 2 of Psychiatric Times's interview with MindMed's chief medical officer, Daniel R. Karlin, MD, MA, he discusses what the study might mean for the future of psychedelics in psychopharmacology and addresses some apprehensive feelings doctors might have regarding the use of psychedelics in treating patients.
Karlin told Psychiatric Times that initially there was quite a bit of interest in the potential of lysergide d-tartrate (LSD) to treat psychiatric illness.
He said the idea of using this drug and the category of drugs in this way is not new but were not utilized after being categorized as a Schedule I substance.
"Certainly it is reasonable to think that some people used them because they believe that they were sustaining the sorts of benefits we are able to now see in clinical research," Karlin said. He said moving forward, if MM120 is approved it grants access to pharmacological interventions that create rapid improvement and produce durable improvement despite not being taken daily. Researchers in phase 2b of the MindMed study found that after a single dose, patients who took a higher dose rapidly got better.
Karlin acknowledged the skepticism held by some clinicians regarding a potential new treatment for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) after years of few advancements. "We are saying that we are seeing highly promising phase 2 data, we are running the best phase 3 program we possibly can to try to generate the evidence that will convince the skeptics that what we are seeing is real drug effect that will translate out into real clinical practice," Karlin said. Phase 3 of the study started after the first patient was dosed and consists of 2 trial periods. The first 12 weeks will be a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group period. The following 40 weeks will be an extension period; participants will be eligible for open-label treatment with MM120 ODT based on symptom severity.

This is part 2 of a 2 part video series. You can watch part 1 here.

Dr Karlin is the chief medical officer of MindMed and a fellow of the APA.