A major Swiss TV news report was broadcast earlier this month about Dr. Peter Gasser’s MAPS-sponsored study evaluating LSD-assisted psychotherapy for subjects with end-of-life anxiety secondary to end-stage illness. The report includes a new interview with Albert Hofmann, who rarely speaks publicly due to his fragile health. Click here to watch the broadcast (in German, translation in process) on the MAPS site.
Dr. Gasser’s protocol will be reviewed again on November 8 by the Swiss Ethics Committee (EC). The EC is reviewing a report about the protocol from a Swiss psychooncologist who raised issues about patient selection (cancer patients v. patients with a range of life-threatening illnesses) and the possibility of measuring any acute traumatic effects of the LSD experience. We expect that this meeting of the EC will resolve the final issues regarding protocol design.
The protocol has already been submitted to SwissMedic, the Swiss equivalent of the FDA. SwissMedic has begun its review and is waiting to consider the outcome of the EC meeting in November. After EC and Swissmedic approval have been obtained, we expect we’ll need an additional several weeks to obtain final approval from the BAG, the Swiss equivalent of DEA. We expect the study to be fully approved by January11, 2008, Albert Hofmann’s 102nd Birthday.
