Rishi Kakar, MD: The Promise of LSD as a Psych Treatment

Investigators continue to hold promise that developers could make a pharmacologically optimized form of Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) for psychiatric diseases like generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Earlier this year, MindMed’s had their Investigational New Drug (IND) application cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for MM-120, paving the way for the company to move forward with a phase 2b dose-optimization trial.

In an interview with HCPLive®, Rishi Kakar, MD, Chief Scientific Officer and Associate Medical Director for Segal Trials, explained the promise of the LSD compounds in potentially treating GAD and other psychiatric disorders.

The upcoming trial will specifically focus on anxiety and multiple doses of MM-120.

“it’s really sort of revolutionary,” he said. “Here we are studying the dose response.”

Kakar said the study will also focus on other endpoints involving quality of life.

He also said testing treatments like MM-120 can potentially fill an unmet need for chronic psychiatric disorders.

Another reason for the need is anxiety rates are expected to dramatically increase, largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kakar said the trial could also open up the potential of other trials and drug development of compounds similar to MM-120 that could be a boost for patients with different psychiatric disorders.