MindBio Therapeutics Corp. have started selection of participants for its Phase 2 randomized double-blind and placebo controlled clinical trial in advanced stage cancer patients using microdoses of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) and Meaning Centred Psychotherapy in a world’s first LSD take-home 6-week trial involving a total of 40 participants. Patients with a stage IV solid tumour cancer and experiencing emotional distress will be randomized into the trial.
Meaning Centred Psychotherapy is a well-established psychotherapeutic intervention in advanced cancer patients with symptoms of anxiety and or depression. Patients with cancer often develop ongoing, clinically significant, symptoms of psychological distress. People with advanced-stage cancer have a high prevalence of depression, anxiety and reduced quality of life with 40% meeting the criteria for a mood disorder.
MindBio is focused on developing targeted treatments to meet this need in cancer patients. Such disorders can significantly impact a patient’s end of life experience and can contribute to feelings of loss of meaning, hope, or a desire for hastened death (otherwise known as ‘existential distress’) which is regarded as one of the most challenging problems in palliative medicine. Additionally, depression and anxiety have been associated with decreased treatment adherence, prolonged hospitalisation, decreased quality of life and increased suicidality in this population.
Depression is itself an independent risk factor of early death in cancer patients. End of life distress is devastating to patients and their families and psychedelics are known to completely transform an individual’s psychological state near end of life. MindBio has developed a multi-disciplinary platform for developing treatments and is involved in psychedelic medicine development and digital therapeutics, has completed Phase 1 clinical trials microdosing Lysergic Acid Diethylimide (LSD) in 80 patients, has a Phase 2 clinical trial in development microdosing LSD in patients with Major Depressive Disorder and a Phase 2 clinical trial in develop microdosing LSD in late stage cancer patients experiencing existential distress.
MindBio invests in research that forms the basis for developing novel and clinically proven treatments including digital technologies and interventions to treat debilitating health conditions such as depression, anxiety and other related mental health conditions.