In a video interview with Pharma Commerce, Jon Kostas,executive director of the APP, discusses how the main goals and priorities of the APP are to serve as a trusted industry voice in the realm of psychedelics, aiming to provide clarity in an area that is often confusing due to the wide range of information and varying compounds. The organization seeks to advance psychedelic treatments through the FDA approval process, making these therapies accessible, affordable, and covered by insurance. In addition to expanding access, the APP emphasizes patient safety, ensuring that individuals receive the correct dosage and undergo appropriate mental and physical screenings before treatment. The focus is also on establishing best practices and safety standards for psychedelic use, ensuring that only eligible and qualified patients pursue these treatments.
Kostas also explains why he believes there was a need for this type of resource, and what went into the making the launch happen, while sharing a personal story surrounding his participation in a randomized clinical trial involving psilocybin.
A transcript of Kostas’ conversation with PC can be found below.
PC: What are the main goals and priorities of the APP?
Kostas: There’s a lot of different information out there about psychedelics. It could be very confusing. Even between specific compounds, it can get very confusing. What we plan to do is serve as the trusted industry voice to help advance these compounds through the FDA to actually make them accessible, affordable, and covered by insurance, [while promoting] patient safety, because you know exactly what you’re getting—the precise dosage, proper mental and physical screenings—going into this treatment in order to see if you’re eligible and qualified for it too, so best practices around that and safety standards.