Many standard treatments for illnesses,including addiction and eating disorders,can have varied efficacy and recovery rates and there have been few advances in novel pharmaceutical discoveries in recent years.
The Morrison government will on Wednesday launch a $15 million competitive grant round to kick-start Australian clinical trials of potential breakthrough combination therapies.
Advocates of psychedelic-assisted therapy – which include former federal trade minister Andrew Robb and retired chief of the defence force Christopher Barrie – have pushed for a national reclassification of the drugs from prohibited substances to controlled drugs,which includes morphine,methadone and oxycodone to advance research.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration last month published an interim decision to not amend its guidelines to give mental health professionals more access to the drugs.
Several of the substances have been granted “breakthrough therapy” status for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder by the US Food and Drug Administration.
But the Australian Medical Association and Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists have raised concerns about any potential rescheduling of the drugs,saying more research is needed to assess their safety and efficacy.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt saidearly results of trials in Australia and internationally were extremely encouraging but more research was desperately needed before the approaches can be used by psychiatrists outside of controlled clinical trials.