Researchers focus on use of psilocybin to treat Parkinson’s disease

In 2006, Johns Hopkins researchers published a groundbreaking study on the effects of a single dose of psilocybin, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in more than 200 species of mushrooms. The team had to set up “unusually rigorous scientific conditions and measures” amid highly restrictive regulatory policies, which were partially due to unfavorable media coverage from the recreational use of “shrooms” in the 1960s and ‘70s that had resulted in misperceptions of risk.

The landmark study provided a scientific framework to better understand how hallucinogenic drugs target the brain’s serotonin receptors, and the researchers announced future plans to investigate how psilocybin might be used to treat conditions like cancer-related anxiety and depression, and other mental health conditions. Since then, more than 60 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals further validated the safety and enduring positive effects of a unique class of pharmacological compounds known as psychedelics.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has since granted breakthrough therapy designation for psilocybin to determine its viability for treating major depressive disorder, opening enrollment to patients for clinical studies in 2019. 

“Psilocybin therapy studies have had a promising start, but research is still in its infancy,” said Dr. Josh Wooley, an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). His Bonding and Attunement

in Neuropsychiatric Disorders (BAND) Laboratory is studying why people with mental illnesses have trouble with social connection. 

Dr. Wooley recently joined the scientific advisory board of Silo Pharmaceuticals, a development stage biopharmaceutical company that focuses on merging traditional therapeutics with psychedelic research.

“Our mission here at Silo Pharmaceuticals is to identify assets to license and fund the research which we believe will be transformative to the well-being of patients and the health care industry,” said Eric Weisblum, its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Silo Pharmaceuticals is addressing an enormous need to develop and test novel treatments for major depressive disorder, bipolar depression, chronic pain and mood symptoms associated with Parkinson's disease. Researchers believe Psilocybin therapy under supervised care may be a more effective treatment and offer patients an avenue to mainstream back into society.

“Our approach is unique in that we have already filed four provisional patents for the delivery of anti-inflammatory therapeutics couples with psilocybin,” added Weisblum. He is actively guiding his company through the different stages of research, licensing, partnerships and eventually clinical trials. 

Silo Pharmaceuticals currently has the exclusive rights to license patents owned by the University of Maryland Baltimore for the treatment of neuroinflammatory disease and can utilize the university’s research for potential multiple sclerosis treatments by delivering psilocybin to the central nervous system.  

Silo Pharmaceuticals has also entered into an investigator-sponsored study agreement with Maastricht University of the Netherlands for the use of psilocybin and LSD to treat Parkinson’s disease.

For Weisblum, working in this industry has been particularly personal.

“I’ve watched one of my best friends’ father-in-law suffer through the diagnosis, getting support and education from the community, and living life to the fullest before eventually losing the battle," he said. “A close friend of mine who is a doctor lost both of his parents to Parkinson’s. With so many lives impacted by this disease, I was moved to do my part and to shepherd the financial resources of my company to improve quality of life.” 

“Every member of our advisory board and management team is fully committed to this vision,” said Weisblum. “The positive reception that we’ve been getting from both the scientific community and the investment community validates our mission of taking psilocybin therapy studies out of the lab and turning them into real-world applications and treatments.”

To learn more about Silo Pharmaceuticals, please visit the website at silopharma.com