California’s startup company Tactogen has patented a series of its MDMA analogues that were designed to reduce negative side effects associated with using the molecule in clinical settings, such as feelings of anxiety and impairment.
On Tuesday, the company announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office had granted intellectual property rights for the derivatives, which covers their composition of matter as a mental health treatment.
“For this new type of treatment to be truly accessible, we need novel molecules that minimize unwanted effects while fully retaining the unusual therapeutic magic of MDMA,” said the company’s CEO Matthew Baggott.
The benzofuran molecules have had oxygen replaced with carbon to increase their resistance to a person’s metabolism while prolonging effects and hindering the potential for toxic metabolites to form in the body.
The company has been developing novel psychoactive entactogen compounds like these since 2020 and has a series of outstanding patent applications yet to receive approval. MDMA has been rapidly gaining popularity in the medical community because of its potential to treat disorders like PTSD and depression.
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Baggot says Tactogen is optimistic that its novel psychoactive drugs will help provide practical and economically feasible mental health treatments.
“We believe we have amassed the largest library of psychoactive entactogens ever. This diversity of molecules has yielded important insights into how chemicals interact with monoamine systems in the brain,” said Baggot.
The company says its compounds are more gentle and less euphoric compared to existing psychedelics and can help facilitate psychological growth in users without the need for costly clinical monitoring.
Tactogen recently voiced its enthusiasm for the clinical studies on MDMA completed by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, the results of which were published in the journal Nature Medicine earlier this month.
“Congratulations to the entire MAPS team for the publication of their final confirmatory clinical trial of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD,” said the company on social media last week.
“After over 30 years of hard work and dedication, this is a watershed that marks the true beginning of Western psychedelic medicine.”
In November last year, the company launched its Community Stakeholder Initiative, which allows the public to purchase a stake in the company.
Other companies that have developed novel MDMA-like drugs and derivatives include PharmAla Biotech Holdings (CSE: MDMA) (OTC: PMBHF), Mind Medicine Inc. (NASDAQ: MNMD) (NEO: MMED) and Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (NEO: MYCO) (OTC: MYCOF).
rowan@mugglehead.com
