‘Tofu-Like’ Psychedelic Gets FDA Nod – Mindstate’s AI-Designed Therapy To Begin Human Trials
Mindstate Design Labs announced that it has received FDA and European Medicines Agency (EMA) approval to begin human trials for its compound, MSD-001.
This milestone marks the beginning of clinical validation for Mindstate’s advanced neurotech AI platform, Osmanthus, which is designed to meticulously craft new altered states of consciousness.
New Approach To Psychedelics
MSD-001 is at the core of Mindstate’s innovative approach. In an exclusive interview with Benzinga, CEO Dillan DiNardo described it as “somewhat tofu-like” or “psychedelic tofu,” referring to its mild effects at clinical doses.
See Also: Y Combinator Startup Uses AI To Design New Drug-Induced States Of Consciousness
Image courtesy: Mindstate Desing Labs.
DiNardo explained that MSD-001 shares common properties with traditional psychedelics like MDMA, psilocybin and LSD, but with a critical difference: it has a much narrower range of effects, making it an ideal base for creating customized altered states of consciousness.
“We chose MSD-001 because it is somewhat tofu-like,” DiNardo said. “We were looking for a psychedelic that had serotonergic specificity—a drug that only hits these serotonin receptors, unlike psychedelics like LSD or DMT, which are very messy molecules, chemically speaking. They hit many different receptors across the brain.”
He elaborated on the distinctive properties of MSD-001. “What is unique about MSD-001 is that it is specific for serotonin receptors. And what we’re seeing is that when you’re only hitting these particular serotonin receptors in the way that MSD-001 interacts with them, the effects are very, very tofu-like. At clinical doses, you probably won’t see the entity interactions that you get with DMT or the ego loss that you might get with 25mg of psilocybin.”
The real innovation is how MSD-001 combines with other compounds – referred to as “probes” – to create specific, targeted psychoactive effects.
“Some probes may be very mild,” DiNardo told Benzinga. “Some probes at different doses could bring in some of the more exciting effects. But that’s the brilliance of the strategy—the optionality, the modularity, …