SOUTH West based Little Green Pharma (LGP) has expanded its business to include psychedelic medicines after being granted a schedule 9 licence to supply psilocybin by the Department of Health.
The licence is a key element of LGP's entry into the burgeoning international field of psychedelic drugs to treat mental illness, with the company establishing a special purpose subsidiary to conduct its psychedelic business which will be led by Shaun Duffy as chief executive officer.
LGP managing director Fleta Solomon said the company had been extensively investigating global developments in psychedelic medicine and the evolving regulatory and policy environment in Australia including through a special purpose subsidiary formed for this purpose.
"Currently classified as a Schedule 9 drug, psilocybin induces a psychedelic state through its action on the brain's 5HT-2A serotonin receptors and when combined with psychotherapy, is the subject of extensive global research for the treatment of mental illness," Ms Solomon said.
"The treatment program is known as psychedelic assisted psychotherapy and is being applied to various mental health conditions including depression, PTSD and anxiety."
LGP is also deeply engaged with the Western Australian medical research community and is well advanced in planning to sponsor a ground-breaking Perth based clinical trial into psilocybin assisted psychotherapy.
