Terran Biosciences has recently published a PCT patent application for unnamed orally administered novel psilocin prodrugs. The biotech platform company joins a growing number of companies developing psilocybin-based drugs, including MindMed and Compass Pathways, two leading companies in the psychedelic therapy space. Terran’s patent filing shows that interest in psilocin therapies is growing, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Jay Patel, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “As adverse effects have stymied the development of psilocybin therapies, such as the prominent Phase IIb asset by Compass Pathways, COMP360, it is likely that more companies will opt to develop assets for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with psilocin as opposed to psilocybin, particularly given psilocin’s shorter duration of action and reduced variability in patient response.”

Psilocybin is naturally derived from psilocybin mushrooms, predominantly the magic mushroom, Psilocybe cubensis, while psilocin is the pharmacologically active metabolite that is produced after ingestion of psilocybin. Compared to psilocybin, which is proscribed in almost all jurisdictions, psilocin has somewhat fewer legal restrictions and both Terran and Beckley Psytech, which also has a psilocin asset in Phase I clinical development, have claimed that it has a shorter and more manageable psychedelic effect on patients.

Patel concludes: “Beckley Psytech is one of the most prominent companies in psychedelics, raising an impressive $80 million in an oversubscribed Series B funding round in 2021. Its acquisition of Eleusis Therapeutics in October 2022, which had a proprietary intravenously administered psilocin asset, ELE-101, in Phase I clinical development, is a sure indicator of their growing interest in psilocin.

“Since then, Beckley has overseen the dosing of the first patient in this trial in November 2022, with the company aiming to present Phase I results and initiate its Phase IIa trial in H1 2023. Should Phase II psilocin trials be successful and prove superior to those using psilocybin, it is likely that more companies will follow Beckley and Terran in developing psilocin therapies in future. Moreover, the oral method of psilocin administration may give Terran’s future assets an advantage with patients over ELE-101.”