Jason Luoma, Ph.D.

#psychedelicscience doi.org/10.1016/j.ps... to read the original article

The authors note Lykos raised $240M+ and faces investor pressure. But as a public benefit corporation claiming to prioritize "positive impact on people, communities and society," this pricing strategy seems wildly misaligned.

Who benefits from breakthrough treatments nobody can afford?

This comparison trick makes MDMA look less impressive economically.

When you compare to actual standard care (not placebo), MDMA therapy could be cost-saving within 5 years - changing the value proposition for insurers and patients.

PROBLEM 2: The placebo comparison

Lykos compared MDMA therapy to... the exact same therapy with placebo pills.
But in the real world, PTSD patients get:

Evidence-based psychotherapy (CPT, PE, EMDR)
SSRIs like sertraline
Not placebo + two therapists for 8 hours

Why does this matter? Insurance math:
At $36,000 → insurers break even after 8.4 years
At $10,500 → insurers break even after 3.8 years
Most people switch insurance every 2-3 years. No insurer covers treatments that only save money for their competitors.

PROBLEM 1: The $36,000 question
Lykos' analysis assumes $12,000 per MDMA dose × 3 sessions = $36,000 just for the drug (not including therapy costs!)

Alternative modeling shows:
Below $10,320 for MDMA: Treatment becomes cost-SAVING

Here's the timeline:

Aug 2024: FDA rejects Lykos' MDMA therapy application
November 2024: Lykos publishes cost-effectiveness study suggesting their $36k price is cost effective
Aug 2025: New critique exposes deep flaws in their economic argument

New analysis reveals a huge disconnect in MDMA therapy pricing: Lykos wants $36,000 for the drug alone, but researchers calculate it it needs to be around $10,500 to be cost saving. This could be the difference between a niche drug for a few vs a breakthrough therapy accessible to millions.

Odds of winning NIH grants plummet as new funding policy and spending delays bite Funding multiyear grants up front will sharply cut number of investigators receiving awards

Odds of winning NIH grants plummet as new funding policy and spending delays bite | Science | AAAS share.google/viASDaYC4l6n...

Interesting...
MDMA-assisted therapy as a treatment for major depressive disorder: proof of principle study
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Louis Castonguay, PhD, on Practice Research Networks, Mutual Respect in Science, and the Joy of Collaboration - Jason Luoma, Ph.D. Episode Description: Louis Castonguay, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology at Penn State University and a leading figure in contemporary psychotherapy research. With a career spanning decades, Dr. Cas...

The newest episode of my Research Matters Podcast it out, this time with Louis Castonguay talking about all he's learned forming and managing multiple practice research networks. He was a very entertaining and knowledgeable guest. I learned a ton. jasonluoma.com/podcast/loui... #researchmatterspod

First year they asked about psilocybin specifically, so we'll get some trend data in future years.

Psychedelics use continues to increase in the USA among people over 25 years old (not for younger cohorts, with a drop in later adolescents. [from 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health]

I’m looking for a postdoc to join me at UCSD, ideally a clinical psychologist PhD who can deliver mindfulness interventions as well as write papers and do analyses. I have one of the world’s largest psychophysiology datasets of opioid misuse, OUD, & chronic pain. Competitive salary. DM or email.

Deconstructing Psychedelic Phenomenology: A Thematic Analysis of Discrete Phases of the Psychedelic Experience A thematic analysis of psychedelic experiences was partitioned into three temporal phases: before, during, and after the experience. Themes before the experience were preparatory intentions and perce...

new paper just dropped in Brain and Behaviour, with @bman1285.bsky.social and colleagues: doi.org/10.1002/brb3...

It continues to be a competitive time in this early aboveground psychedelic ecosystem. Just like we're seeing a winnowing of service centers in Oregon, it looks like the same is likely happening in the training sphere.

osf.io/preprints/ps...

THE DOMINO EFFECT:

Too many training programs chasing fewer students
Programs forced to slash tuition to stay competitive
"Financial sustainability a challenge as programs proliferate disproportionately to opportunities"
No clear career pathway post-certification

New report commissioned by Harvard reveals psychedelic training programs are in crisis. After MDMA's FDA rejection, it seems like the rush of new psychedelic trainees that was anticipated has stalled.

If this research replicates, this could have huge implications for psychedelic pain research:

❌ Don't expect direct "painkiller" effects
✅ Focus on cognitive-emotional dimensions
✅ Measure quality of life, not just pain intensity
✅ Consider therapy integration essential

Psychedelics may help human pain through psychological mechanisms that don't exist in mice:

Changing pain beliefs
Reducing catastrophic thinking
Improving mood & anxiety
Shifting relationship to suffering through acceptance

In mouse models --- No pain relief at any dose, any timepoint. But humans keep reporting benefits. Why?

Psilocybin has no immediate or persistent analgesic effect in acute and chronic mouse pain models The psychedelic psilocybin may have lasting therapeutic effects for patients with chronic pain syndromes. Some clinical and preclinical data suggest these putative benefits derive from direct analgesi...

Many people report pain relief from psychedelics in surveys, but rigorous animal testing shows ZERO analgesic effects. This new preprint may reveal something crucial about how psychedelics might actually help with pain.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #psychedelicscience

Safety and tolerability of multiple sublingual microdoses of 5-MeO-DMT in adults with moderate symptoms of depression and/or anxiety: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study Neuropsychopharmacology - Safety and tolerability of multiple sublingual microdoses of 5-MeO-DMT in adults with moderate symptoms of depression and/or anxiety: a randomized, double-blind,...

Good example of how route of administration makes a huge difference in dosing. In this study of sublingual dosing, 12mg of 5-MeO-DMT had relatively small subjective effects, but when that much is inhaled or insufflated, it has profound psychedelic effects:

rdcu.be/ew4rJ

RFK pushes the accelerator on psychedelic medicines Good news for Lykos

Interesting article here. suggests that lykos might not need to run another phase three study, and that mdma approval could happen within twelve months. open.substack.com/pub/ecstatic... #psychedelicscience

Low-quality papers based on public health data are flooding the scientific literature The appearance of thousands of formulaic biomedical studies has been linked to the rise of text-generating AI tools.

NIH being flooded with applications and then this. We're gonna see more of this. Seems like some major adaptation for journals will need to happen.
search.app/t6t6T

Europe Invests in the Future of Psychedelic Science: INTEGRATE Doctoral Network Launches with €4.3 Million in Funding — PAREA A second major EU-funded project in psychedelic science, following PsyPal, will start in the coming months. INTEGRATE will be a doctoral training network supported by €4.3 million in EU funding throug...

Big news for psychedelic research in Europe:

The new €4.3M INTEGRATE project will train 16 PhDs across Europe. Funded by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, it marks a major step forward. PAREA is proud to support by hosting secondments.

More here: parea.eu/parea-news/i...

Exploring the Therapeutic Effects of Psychedelics Administered to Military Veterans in Naturalistic Retreat Settings Military veterans experience higher rates of mental health conditions such as stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, and often face challenges rejoining civilian life after deployment. This study inv...

Bottom line: This research continues to expand on the idea that psychedelics can help veterans and shows how psychedelics can be combined with community support and civilian transition. But let's demand the rigorous science our vets deserve before declaring victory
doi.org/10.1002/brb3...

As usual, this retreat study has significant limitations that we must acknowledge:

❌ No control group
❌ High expectancy effects (67% were already psychedelic advocates)
❌ Self-selected participants
❌ Only 4-week follow-up

The results are promising but need rigorous replication

Broad improvement in depression, PTSD, sleep, quality of life, anxiety, as found in other studies.

One unique aspect of the study. It was the first to examine whether psychedelic retreats help veterans reintegrate into civilian life -- 58 veterans attended psilocybin/ayahuasca retreats -- found 18% improvement in civilian transition challenges.