Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has signed into law a bill to create a state-backed research consortium to conduct clinical trials on ibogaine as a possible treatment for substance use disorders and other mental health conditions. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop the psychedelic into a prescription drug with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, with the state retaining a portion of the profit.
“Texas is now leading the way in the United States for the evaluation of ibogaine as a potential medication that can help improve the lives of so many Americans,” the governor said at a signing event on Wednesday. He called the psychedelic “a therapy that has shown great promise in treating” conditions such as depression, PTSD and opioid use disorder.
“I’m about to sign a law that will lead to an FDA-approved drug development clinical trial that will seek approval of ibogaine as a medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder and other behavioral health conditions, especially those suffered by our veterans,” he added. “Texas will invest $50 million to support this research, and these funds can be matched by grants and private investments.”
Under the new law, approved by the state legislature earlier this month, Texas will retain a commercial interest in “all intellectual property that may be generated over the course of the drug development clinical trials,” the legislation says, with an aim of making Texas a hub for “ibogaine-related biomedical research, development, treatment, manufacturing, and distribution.”
A quarter of revenue taken in by the state from any resulting intellectual property would fund veterans programs.
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