Promising Developments in Psychedelics: Insights from Hans Eriksson, MD, PhD

Hans Eriksson, MD, PhD, offered a measured but ultimately optimistic appraisal of emerging psychedelic and ketamine-based therapies for depression, drawing on his more than 25 years of experience in psychiatric drug development.

Eriksson focused substantially on data from Compass trials, noting that separation between active treatment and comparator on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale fell between 3.5 and 4 points at 6 to 8 weeks.¹ While he acknowledged this was clinically meaningful, he observed that it "perhaps is not really living up to the hype that once was around the psychedelics." He nonetheless emphasized that these agents represent genuinely novel mechanisms of action capable of delivering long-standing effects after only one or a few interventions—a phenomenon he described as "completely new in psychiatry."²

Eriksson situated these developments within the broader history of antidepressant research, which he characterized as having been dominated for decades by monoaminergic modulation. He expressed hope that psychedelic and ketamine-based compounds would serve patients inadequately treated by traditional approaches.

On the matter of safety, Eriksson argued that significant psychological experiences and cardiovascular effects accompanying these agents require that they be treated as "strong interventions that need to be handled with the utmost care." He referenced the backlash against psychedelics in the 1960s as a cautionary historical precedent, urging clinicians to adhere strictly to established clinical practice.

Overall, Eriksson described the field as undergoing a healthy maturation process and expressed confidence that it was emerging not with failure, but with a portfolio of promising interventions for patients with treatment-resistant depression.

Dr Eriksson is a psychiatrist and chief medical officer of HMNC Brain Health in Munich, Germany.

References

1. Goldhill O. Compass psilocybin therapy shown to be effective in largest-ever study in depression. Stat News. June 23, 2025. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://www.statnews.com/2025/06/23/compass-pathways-psilocybin-depression-treatment-meets-trial-goal/

2. Dino F. A modern overview of the potential therapeutic effects of psilocybin in the treatment of depressive disorders, treatment-resistant depression, and end-of-life distress. Cureus. 2025;17(3):e80707.