The study, led by Director of Medicinal Chemistry Elena Bray, details the first successful intermolecular carbon-to-carbon bonding at the 4-position of tryptamines. By utilizing 4-Br-DMT as an intermediate, the team can now access chemical spaces previously unavailable in the development of psychedelics such as psilocybin, N,N-DMT, and 5-MeO-DMT. While the compound itself is not a therapeutic, it serves as a critical tool for engineering derivative molecules.

This research, conducted in collaboration with the Designer Drug Research Unit at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, expands Psilera’s patent-protected pipeline beyond its current lead candidate, PSIL-006. Chief Scientific Officer Jackie von Salm noted that diversifying these chemical tools is essential for optimizing drug design and identifying the most promising therapeutic candidates for future clinical study.