New fast-acting psychedelic shows promise for treatment-resistant depression

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-03-26 02:00

Australia; International; VIC

Photo by Andrik Langfield on Unsplash

A single dose of a new drug has shown promise at reducing symptoms in people with treatment-resistant depression, according to a trial by international and Australian researchers. The team recruited 81 people with treatment-resistant depression and randomised them to either receive a placebo or a drug called GH001 - a synthetic form of a psychedelic substance called mebufotenin - via inhalation. Following the patients for a week, the researchers say depression symptom scores improved at a greater rate for those in the GH001 group and on the last day, 23/40 of the GH001 group were considered in remission compared to none of the placebo group. The participants in remission were followed up for a further six months, and the researchers say most required more treatment over that time but 20 of them remained in remission at six months.

News release

From: JAMA

GH001 vs Placebo in Patients With Treatment-Resistant Depression

About The Study: In this study, an individualized dosing regimen of GH001, a synthetic inhaled formulation of mebufotenin, resulted in significant improvements in depression symptoms relative to placebo and was well tolerated, supporting its potential as a novel, rapid-acting treatment for treatment-resistant depression.

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Research JAMA, Web page The URL will go live after the embargo ends

Journal/
conference: JAMA Psychiatry

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: The University of Melbourne, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Funder: This trial was funded by GH Research.

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