Exposure‐Response Analysis to Assess the Concentration‐QTc Relationship of Psilocybin/Psilocin
Elyes Dahmane, Paul R. Hutson, Jogarao Gobburu
Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development April 6, 2020 DOI: 10.1002/cpdd.796 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Open-label single ascending dose study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Psilocybin |
| Dose | 0.3 to 0.6 mg/kg |
| Topics | Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Hallucinogen Pharmacology Qt interval Traditional medicine Anesthesia |
| Citations | 44 |
| Key points | Psilocin shows a shallow concentration-dependent QTc prolongation, with clinically meaningful effects only at concentrations above those expected with a 25 mg dose. |
Abstract
Abstract Psilocybin is being developed for treating major depressive disorder. Psilocybin is readily dephosphorylated to psilocin upon absorption. The potential for psilocin proarrhythmic effect was assessed using a concentration‐QTc interval (C‐QTc) analysis from an open‐label single ascending dose study of psilocybin. Psilocybin doses ranged from 0.3 to 0.6 mg/kg. This trial showed a significant but shallow C‐QTc relationship. At the clinical dose of 25 mg, the mean psilocin maximum concentration is 18.7 ng/mL, and the associated mean (upper 90% confidence interval of mean) QTcF change is 2.1 (6.6) milliseconds. Given the short half‐life of psilocin of about 4 hours, there would be no accumulation after monthly oral doses used in clinical trials. The upper limit of the 90% confidence interval of the model‐predicted mean ΔQTcF crossed 10 milliseconds at a psilocin concentration of 31.1 ng/mL. At a supraclinical psilocin maximum concentration of about 60 ng/mL, ΔQTcF remains low, with a mean (upper limit of the 90% confidence interval) of 9.1 (17.9) milliseconds. This analysis enabled the characterization of the C‐QTc relationship and prediction of QTc prolongation at the expected clinical and possible higher psilocybin doses.