Texas is launching its own research program into ibogaine, a psychedelic compound, after state officials could not find a company willing to help develop it into a drug for FDA approval. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows announced on March 31 that Texas will use $50 million the legislature invested and partner with statewide medical researchers to proceed with its own ibogaine research program. The lawmakers stated that multiple proposals from drug companies failed to meet the standards for state funds, committing that “we intend to fully fund this program.”
The effort will now receive federal support following President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order on April 18 to facilitate research into psychedelic drugs, including ibogaine, to treat serious mental health illnesses. The order includes at least $50 million to support investments from states like Texas on this issue. Katharine Neill Harris, a drug policy fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, noted that Texas lawmakers set demanding conditions for companies seeking the $50 million state investment: they required a plan to gain FDA approval, create a corporate presence in Texas, match the $50 million investment, and commit to Texas 20% of revenue from future drug sales.
Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 2308 into law last year, creating a consortium of universities, hospitals, and drug developers to conduct clinical trials of an ibogaine drug and obtain FDA approval. Ibogaine, extracted from an ancient African shrub, has been used to alleviate addiction and brain trauma. For several years, people have traveled to clinics in Mexico to access the compound. Texas Health and Human Services selected UTHealth Houston in collaboration with The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to lead a statewide partnership conducting a two-year research trial evaluating ibogaine’s effects on patients with addiction, traumatic brain injury, and other behavioral health conditions.
Harris noted that if the state moves forward without a drug company partner, it may need legislative or legal adjustments to meet statutory requirements of SB 2308, as written to require private funding matches. She cautioned that “a drug development effort like this will likely require much more than $100 million overall, not just the initial $50 million in state funding.” Bryan Hubbard, chief executive officer of Americans for Ibogaine, stated that Texas’s approach is significant given bills being passed in Mississippi, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Missouri to join in ibogaine research.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.kxxv.com/news/texas-news/texas-will-launch-its-own-clinical-trials-into-ibogaine-psychedelic-after-failing-to-find-a-drug-company