On Monday, psychedelic pharmaceutical research company PharmaDrug (CSE: BUZZ) (OTC Pink: LMLLF) appointed neuroscientist Dr. Steven A. Barker, Ph.D. to its newly-formed scientific advisory board. 

Dr. Barker will lead research and development regarding the mental health benefits of the powerful psychedelic compound Dimethyltryptamine, also known as DMT.

Dr. Baker has been actively involved in the research of psychedelics since 1976, with a main focus on DMT. He is Professor Emeritus at Louisiana State University in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Baker was also featured in the 2010 documentary “DMT: The Spirit Molecule”, which was hosted by commentator Joe Rogan.

“I am very excited to join PharmaDrug to lead their research initiatives in unlocking the potential of DMT as a pharmaceutical for various mental health, neurological and inflammatory disorders,” said Dr. Barker. “I have been involved in the research with DMT for over 40 years and my belief in DMT’s potential still holds to this day and even after retirement from LSU I continue to be involved in both the mechanistic and clinical research of DMT with leading academic research institutions across the world.”

DMT, also known as the “spirit molecule” due to its extreme psychedelic effects, is a hallucinogenic tryptamine drug that occurs naturally in plants and animals, including humans. Scientific studies have shown that DMT at low doses can have mood-elevating effects and calming properties. It is being researched to treat a range of mental-health disorders including PTSD and anxiety, with a main focus on treatment-resistant depression.

“We are honored to have Dr. Barker join our scientific advisory board and lead our psychedelic pharmaceuticals program with a focus on DMT… We are quickly laying the groundwork in building a foundation that will enable us to focus our research efforts with DMT and partnering with leading research institutions to achieve our objectives in advancing the clinical development of DMT as a pharmaceutical for unmet medical needs.”

CEO of PharmaDrug Daniel Cohen

PharmaDrug aims to expand its DMT research through pre-clinical and clinical research and licensing, as well as collaboration with academic institutions, expanding its intellectual property portfolio, and continuing to add medical and clinical experts to its scientific advisory board.