Re:LSD-like molecules counter depession without the trip
by BurningFrog on Sunday October 02, 2022 @03:11PM
(#33059184)
> I don't think it's a regulation bug to require a study to approve a drug for a certain use.
That's actually not how it works.
When a drug is FDA approved for a certain use, doctors are free to prescribe it for anything the think it's useful for. This is called "off label" use, and is ~20% of prescriptions in the US. This "loophole" cures a lot of people!
And there are some clinics who do use regular Ketamine for depression. The main problem for them is that insurance will not cover this usage.
> The bug is that we don't incentivize funding expensive studies to discover unpatentable (i.e. cheap) treatments.
This I agree with. Though I'd expect some philanthropic billionaire to get to that long before any governments would.
That's actually not how it works.
When a drug is FDA approved for a certain use, doctors are free to prescribe it for anything the think it's useful for. This is called "off label" use, and is ~20% of prescriptions in the US. This "loophole" cures a lot of people!
And there are some clinics who do use regular Ketamine for depression. The main problem for them is that insurance will not cover this usage.
> The bug is that we don't incentivize funding expensive studies to discover unpatentable (i.e. cheap) treatments.
This I agree with. Though I'd expect some philanthropic billionaire to get to that long before any governments would.