One company is hoping to combine the altered state of the psychedelic experience with the unreal environment of virtual reality (VR) to improve anxiety.
Incannex has entered into a licensing agreement with Monash University to develop the treatment, marking the initiation of a second clinical psychedelic therapy programme.
The VR environment has been developed by BrainPark, a state-of-the-art clinical research platform at Monash University’s Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, and the license allows Incannex to investigate the use of the VR therapy tool in combination with a psychedelic drug to develop a new treatment for anxiety disorders.
CEO and managing director of Incannex, Joel Latham, commented: “We’re delighted to have commenced this exciting project and to have expanded our partnership with Monash.
“The combination of psychedelic compounds with an evidence-based VR therapy is a leading edge in the field of mental health treatments.
“We look forward to providing more detail about the project in due course when clinical trial planning has been finalised.”
According to the company, theVR treatment uses an exposure-based approach, providing triggering stimuli in a graded and controlled manner. It will be used alongside specialised clinical support and the administration of a psychedelic drug, which it says may allow for the development of new skills, changes in mental and biological responses to triggering stimuli, and reductions in pathological symptoms and behaviours.
The associated research and development project will be funded by Incannex and undertaken by Monash, led by Dr Paul Liknaitzky, Head, The Clinical Psychedelic Research Lab, Turner Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Monash, and Professor Murat Yücel, Director, BrainPark, Turner Institute, Monash, in collaboration with Professor Suresh Sundram, Head, Department of Psychiatry, Monash and Dr Rebecca Segrave, Deputy Director, BrainPark, Monash.
The two are working towards a research agreement for the first trials, which will assess optimal dose, safety, and tolerability of the combination treatment method.
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