In the German EPIsoDE trial that missed its target, 8 of 47 patients on the full dose of psilocybin responded, against 5 of 47 given a vitamin. Compass Pathways separately reported two successful phase 3 trials, beating a placebo by 3.6 points and a 1 milligram dose by 3.8 on a 0-to-60 depression scale.
All three share a problem. In EPIsoDE, 86 percent of participants correctly identified the 25 milligram dose, and a meta-analysis published the same day detected no difference between psychedelic therapy and antidepressants given openly, on far less data.
The effect looks real, smaller than promised, and may be partly tied to knowing you took it. Nothing is approved or available yet.
