A psychedelic medicine startup will be developing a transdermal patch for sustained delivery of psilocin.
Emotional Intelligence Ventures (Ei.Ventures) will be working with Tioga Research to develop a transdermal patch for the sustained delivery of the active compound found in certain mushrooms, psilocin. The company hopes the patch will help to avoid issues arising from traditional oral administration such as nausea.
Ei.Ventures says it is focused on developing botanical active pharmaceutical ingredients for the psychedelic supply chain, novel psychedelic compounds for various indications, and unique delivery mechanisms and treatment protocols.
Addressing formulation issues
The company notes that, as the popularity of psilocybin increases, transdermal delivery could be a popular alternative method for microdosing. Psilocybin and psilocin are the two main active compounds of psychedelic mushrooms which act as agonists at 5-HT2A subtype receptors.
David Nikzad, the CEO of Ei.Ventures said: “We are over the moon to join with one of the top transdermal delivery research specialists, Tioga Research, to begin developing products that could potentially help millions of people manage their mental health issues – depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc. with a patch.
“Additionally, with the increasing legality and popularity of psilocybin mushrooms, transdermal delivery could become a popular method for microdosing which helps with mental clarity and mood stabilisation as well.”
Tioga Research, which has headquarters and laboratory operations in San Diego, CA, and a business presence in the UK to support clients in Europe, supports research and early development of skin-applied products and has pioneered high throughput experimentation technologies for screening skin delivery.
John M. Newsam, CEO of Tioga Research added: “By working with Ei.Ventures on a blue sky project of this nature, we will deploy our proprietary technologies and deep expertise to address key psilocin formulation issues, such as delivery and stability. A transdermal delivery route can circumvent issues with oral administration, such as nausea.”
