Mydecine CSO Rob Roscow: MDMA and Psychedelics Have More Opportunities Than Cannabis

Josh Bartch, CEO of Mydecine Innovation Group (NEO: MYCO) (OTCMKTS: MYCOF) was with The Dales Report last month to discuss using the compounds MYCO-001 and 004 to enable smoking cessation. Since that interview, Mydecine announced they filed a new patent for MDMA-like compounds. We’re pleased to welcome Mydecine’s Chief Science Officer Rob Roscow back to discuss this news and why MDMA compounds have become a focus for the company.

Here’s some highlights from the interview:

Mydecine is researching MDMA analogues in the way they approached psilocybin and psilocin, says Roscow

Yes, Roscow explains, the news does mean that Mydecine is looking at MDMA analogues.

Roscow goes on to clarify that Mydecine plans to use the same strategy that they’ve already applied to patenting improvements on psilocybin and psilocin, taking the enrichment of work and applying it to the MDMA space.

When we think of those improvements, he says, we’re targeting things that will improve use in medical practice. This would include things like the timed course of activity, the safety profile, and delivery methods.

Roscow says that MDMA is a different category than mycology – but it’s a complimentary one

When they’re doing work with mycology, Roscow explains, they’re focusing on the compounds made out of mushrooms. Psilocybin would be one of these.

However, MDMA has different drug properties than the psilocybin molecule, Roscow says, and looking at the properties is Mydecine’s primary goal. MDMA is a different category, but it’s a highly complimentary one, he adds. “It works in similar but nuanced ways.”

Psilocybin, and other classic psychedelics, Roscow explains, bind to serotonin. MDMA and its analogues release native serotonin.

According to Roscow, you can think of psilocybin as being useful as a “reset switch” paired with therapy; in a nuanced but different way, MDMA and those kinds of compounds don’t act like a reset switch, but make patients open to therapy and “able to talk about things that are incredibly stressful.” He says that’s how they view the two mechanisms and activities as being highly complimentary.

Mydecine and the psychedelic industry in general should “see a strong finish to the year”

Roscow says that there are a number of companies with research coming out. Mydecine is also busy launching clinical trials, and there will be “a lot of news coming out that way.”

He adds that Mydecine’s drug development pipeline is laid out in such a way that there’s new developments every six months to one year, so that will continue to populate Mydecine’s news timeline.

MDMA and the other psychedelics have opportunities that outweigh cannabis, says Roscow

Chantix’s recall is just the beginning of opportunities. The recall of the smoking cessation drug does give Myco-001/004 a nice window to take “a much safer and efficacious approach” to smoking cessation, combined with cognitive behavioral therapy, says Roscow.

When it comes to other items in the space, Roscow explains that psychedelics have more medical potential and diversity in use. “If you think about how many different medical indications we can address with this kind of drug, versus cannabinoids, it’s a 10:1 ratio,” Roscow says.