Breaking: U.S. Government Taps Mark Cuban’s Company to Develop Ibogaine for PTSD; Commits to Fund $20M Real-World Evidence Network

This morning, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided an update on two psychedelics-related initiatives during a press conference hosted by its Secretary, RFK Jr. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary, Doug Collins, was unable to join the press conference due to a shooting in D.C. VA Senior Advisor Andrew Gradison stood in for Collins.

RFK Jr. opened the press conference by stating that he and Collins were “announcing two major investments” that will contribute to carrying out initiatives envisioned by April’s executive order.

The first saw RFK Jr. reveal that the government is backing the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company to “develop the regulatory and manufacturing processes” around ibogaine, which will come as a real surprise to many. ARPA-H has also acquired data from Beond, an ibogaine clinic operator, to support this development effort.

HHS also announced the launch of a funding opportunity housed in the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) that aims to create a real-world research network. That opportunity was originally floated earlier this year, but now becomes concrete.

Here, we provide breaking coverage and rapid analysis.

A Federally Backed Ibogaine Program for PTSD

The main news this morning is that the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has backed Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company to develop ibogaine for PTSD, in collaboration with the VA.

RFK Jr. said that HHS is committing up to $4.9 million through ARPA-H to the effort...