United States – An important meeting on the approval of a new treatment using one of the substances considered hallucinogens is to be held on Tuesday as the advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration are set to deliberate on the therapy based on MDMA for PTSD.

The session, conducted by the independent experts of the agency, is the closest that a drug based on MDMA, commonly referred to as ecstasy or molly, has ever gotten within the FDA procedure for approval, as reported by Reuters.

Addressing Mental Health Needs

This comes after several similar efforts have been pursued by supporters claiming that substances such as MDMA are effective in the treatment of mental health and millions also have other uses that are not related to drug use in society.

The treatment is a capsule containing or containing pure MDMA manufactured by the public-benefit corporation Lykos Therapeutics and to be taken in combination with hourly, full-spectrum sessions of talk therapy by a licensed, entheogenic mental health provider.

Promising Results and Concerns

MDMA, in combination with consultation, has indicated lower PTSD scores in trials with over 190 patients in contrast to placebo.

However, the FDA’s staff reviewers voiced concerns on Friday about how patients suffering from PTSD in the clinical trials knew whether they were given MDMA or a placebo due to the mind-altering effects of the drug.

A Step Towards Innovation

“I don’t think that is as much of a concern because even if it is an enhanced placebo effect, people are still getting better,” said David Olson, director of the UC Davis Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics.

“But the bigger question is, what is the risk to those individuals?”

PTSD is among the largely prevalent mental health disorders, which impacts 13 million people within the United States of America and is prevalent among war veterans. This indicates that there is still a big gap in the development of new treatments for PTSD in this regard since the other drugs do not affect every person.

Lykos treatment is one treatment out of many psychedelic drugs given to patients with untreatable mental disorders, including Compass Pathways’ (CMPS. O) drug, which is derived from magic mushrooms.

The agency’s staff discussed restrictions on its use and oversight in briefing documents delivered on Friday. The FDA also pointed out the increase in both blood pressure and pulse in the trials and instances of hepatic toxicity.

According to Olson, the approval could provide “a new way to attack the problem, but as a single agent, it is not going to be a large driver” because of the cost and logistical challenges associated with it, as reported by Reuters.

“It’s important because it would be the first in this class of molecules, but I don’t think it will be the last; it will be replaced by compounds that have superior properties to MDMA.”

United States – Jurors at the trial of British tech pioneer Mike Lynch may hear closing arguments in San Francisco on Monday in the fraud case regarding Hewlett-Packard’s (HPE. N) acquisition of Lynch’s software company Autonomy for USD 11.2 billion in 2011.

The Cambridge University-educated businessman testified for the defense at the trial, explaining that he had no criminal intentions and that HP performed the merger poorly, as reported by Reuters.

HP then proceeded to write down the value of Autonomy by USD 8.8 billion in one year since the acquisition.

Lynch and the former Autonomy finance executive Stephen Chamberlain have been charged with fraud and conspiracy for planning to artificially increase the company’s revenue starting in 2009, in part to attract a buyer.

Allegations of Fraud

Prosecutors claimed the two inflated Autonomy revenue through back-dated transactions and ‘round-trip’ transactions, where money was paid upfront by the customer through a fictitious contract.

During the trial, which started mid-March, the jurors were presented with over thirty government witnesses, including Leo Apotheker, the former HP chief who was dismissed just a few weeks after the purchase of Autonomy was declared.

Lynch’s legal advisors prepared the trial, stating that HP wanted to acquire Autonomy ahead of potential competitors, so the due diligence was performed quickly before the sale was closed.

Lynch Denies Involvement in Accounting Decisions

Taking the stand, Lynch denied that he was involved directly with the accounting decisions at issue and asserted that he was more concerned with technology issues at the time, leaving the finance-related matters in the hands of Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy’s former chief financial officer.

Hussain was convicted in 2018 in the same court in another trial. He was released from U. S. prison in January following his five-year imprisonment term.

Lynch was identified as one of the UK’s leading tech enablers in a bracket that included Steve Jobs of Apple and Bill Gates of Microsoft.

Fallout from Controversial Acquisition Continues

The Autonomy deal was one of the largest British technology deals that was supposed to boost HP’s software segment. Rather, it gave rise to a chain of cruel and costly court proceedings, as reported by Reuters.

Lynch and Hussain were found liable for the defamation in a civil trial in London in 2022, though the amount of the damages remains unconcluded. The company is requesting 4 billion US Dollars in total funding.

United States – Billionaire and casino magnate Miriam Adelson, a Republican megadonor, will fund a supporting group for the US presidential hopeful Donald Trump; this is likely to be a huge fillip for Trump’s tilt against Democratic president Joe Biden. 

Adelson to Lead Funding 

The Preserve America super PAC, which Adelson and her late husband, Sheldon Adelson contributed to in the 2020 election cycle, has been brought back, and Adelson will be a “lead donor” as well, according to Dave Carney, the Republican strategist commanding the group. 

“Our goal is to raise more than we did last time, which was about USD 100 million,” he said in a Reuters interview on Thursday. While he did not want to pinpoint how much Adelson would contribute to the cause, 

Information on Adelson’s involvement was first provided by Politico. Adelson’s representative did not provide information to Reuters about the possible contributions of the woman by the time this article was written. 

Closing the Cash Gap 

Adelson, an Israeli-born physician whose family’s fortune Forbes reckons to be in the region of USD 29.5 billion, is one of the largest donor prizes available for a Republican candidate. While she decided not to vote in the Republican primary, she now seems eager to assist Trump reclaim the White House in the November elections. 

The cash gap of hundreds of millions of dollars opened by the Trump campaign’s sluggish fundraising during the first three months of the cycle seemed to close in April for the first time when Trump outpaced Biden in fundraising as major fundraising events took place across the country. 

Legacy of Generosity and Influence 

Adelson and her late husband contributed the most—in the region of USD 218 million—to Republican and conservative interests in the 2020 US election, according to the Center for Responsive Politics data. 

The Adelsons are famous for their charitable activities both in the United States and Israel and for sponsoring Jewish organizations. El Casino Las Vegas Sands Corp <LVS> was headed by Sheldon Adelson, who died in 2021.