Dozens of companies and research groups are working on psychedelic and psychedelic-inspired medicines, and the headlines can make each one sound close to the finish line. Most are not. A drug pipeline tracker lets you see the whole field at once and check how far along each candidate really is.
Where to start
The best-known one is Psychedelic Alpha’s Psychedelic Drug Development Tracker. Psychedelic Alpha is an independent news and data group that covers the field, and its tracker follows candidates from the early lab stage through human trials. The data there is theirs. This post is my own plain-language guide to reading it.
How to read the stages
- Discovery and preclinical: scientists find promising molecules and test them in the lab and in animals. Many never reach people.
- Phase 1: the first tests in humans, usually a small group, mainly asking whether the drug is safe and what dose is reasonable.
- Phase 2: a first look at whether the drug seems to help people who have the condition. Encouraging, but not conclusive.
- Phase 3: large trials meant to confirm that the drug works and is safe enough.
- Approval: a regulator such as the FDA reviews everything and decides.
What to watch for
- “In trials” is not “approved.” A drug in Phase 2 is a long way from a pharmacy shelf.
- Who is reporting the results. Results announced by a company are worth reading, but they are not the same as peer-reviewed findings.
- Whether the drug causes a psychedelic experience at all. Some newer candidates are designed not to. I wrote about that in What Happens When Medicine Can Rewire the Brain?
- Small studies. Early studies with few people and no comparison group can’t prove a drug works.
Where things stand
As of this fall, the FDA has fast-tracked reviews of a few psychedelic candidates, but psilocybin, MDMA and other classic psychedelics remain Schedule I substances at the federal level, meaning none has general FDA approval as a treatment. That could change, and a tracker is the quickest way to see when.
Why it matters to my writing
These questions run through my novel, Syncope, which follows a man chasing a molecule at the speed AI now makes possible. None of this is medical advice.