Usona puts new psilocybin synthesis method in the public domain

Lucid News reports: "The nonprofit Usona Institute has developed a new technique to synthesize kilograms of pharmaceutical grade psilocybin and placed this information in the public domain where it cannot be patented.  In a paper published in the journal ACS Omega, Usona scientists describe how they developed an innovative, efficient method to produce a more consistent yield and high purity of synthetic psilocybin based on the established Speeter-Anthony tryptamine synthesis approach.  Unlike previous methods of producing synthetic psilocybin, which involved a five- or six-step process, Usona’s new four-step technique described in the paper uses the reagent phosphoryl chloride instead of tetrabenzyl pyrophosphate to phosphorylate psilocin to produce psilocybin in crystal form ...

Synthesis Provides Alternative to COMPASS Psilocybin Strategy 

Usona’s new psilocybin synthesis technique also helps the nonprofit overcome earlier barriers it encountered when seeking laboratories to manufacture synthetic psilocybin for its clinical trials. Initially, in 2016, Usona partnered with Sterling Pharma Solutions Limited in the UK, with only modest success. In 2017, Usona approached UK laboratory Onyx Scientific to manufacture psilocybin. But Usona could not strike an agreement because the lab had an exclusive manufacturing contract with COMPASS Pathways, the UK-based for profit mental health care company. "