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Analysis and Health

Psilocybin therapy steps closer to credibility with largest trial yet

Promising results from a psilocybin trial suggest that psychedelic therapies for depression could help some – but not all – people who don't respond to conventional antidepressants

By Sam Wong

10 November 2021

A psilocybin therapy trial therapy room.

A psilocybin therapy trial therapy room

COMPASS Pathways

Is psychedelic medicine finally ready to live up to the hype? Yesterday, promising results were announced from the largest clinical trial of psilocybin for depression to date. They suggest that, while psilocybin therapy is far from a panacea, it can help some people for whom current medicines are ineffective.

The study was led by Compass Pathways, a UK-based company that holds patents for two synthetic formulations of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms. It involved 233 people with treatment-resistant depression, meaning to be eligible they had to have tried two other…

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