Health · Medical Research · 4 hrs ago
US to fund groundwork for ibogaine research on PTSD
The US health department will provide up to $4.9 million to prepare for research into ibogaine, a psychedelic drug.
The funding is intended to help develop ways to manufacture and dose the drug and design studies, not to pay for trials with patients.
The first planned studies will examine ibogaine for PTSD, a condition linked to higher rates of suicide and substance abuse among veterans.
The drug comes from a shrub native to West Africa and remains illegal in the United States because of its risks, which include dangerous heart rhythms.
Veterans and advocates say it could help with conditions including PTSD, depression and opioid addiction, but US research has been largely frozen for decades.
The health department will receive data and treatment guidance from Beond, a Texas company that has treated patients with ibogaine in Mexico.
Officials say safety will come first, and further funding could support research into addiction; the timing of any patient trials was not announced.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced up to $4.9 million to prepare for the first U.S. studies of ibogaine for post-traumatic stress disorder.
The funding will support work on manufacturing, dosing and study design, not research directly involving patients.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the government will receive data and treatment guidance from Beond Inc., which has treated more than 3,000 patients with ibogaine in Mexico.
Ibogaine can cause serious side effects, including sometimes deadly irregular heart rhythms, and is illegal in the United States.
The announcement follows President Donald Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to speed up research and review of psychedelics that could help with mental health conditions.
- Who
- The Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced the funding. Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins joined him.
- What
- Up to $4.9 million will fund groundwork for U.S. studies of ibogaine as a PTSD treatment.
- When
- Thursday, November 12, 2026.
- Where
- Washington, D.C. The planned studies are in the United States.
- Why
- To prepare for research into ibogaine’s medical potential for PTSD, including work on manufacturing, dosing and study design.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to speed up review and research of psychedelics for mental health conditions.
Trump’s executive order on psychedelics was previewed.
HHS announced up to $4.9 million to prepare for the first U.S. studies of ibogaine for PTSD.
- Funding
- Up to $4.9 million
- Condition under study
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Company providing data and guidance
- Beond Inc.
- Patients treated by Beond in Mexico
- More than 3,000
- Ibogaine status in the United States
- Illegal
2 sources
What people are saying
That is going to allow us to dramatically accelerate the clinical trial process
For veterans living with PTSD, we owe them both urgency and the best science we can produce
Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it.