Psychedelics for anxiety disorders: what the evidence shows

One supervised 100 µg dose of DT120 beat placebo in the Phase 3 Voyage trial (214 people): anxiety scores fell 5.4 points more at week 12.¹

The second Phase 3, Panorama, also met its goal: a 5.1-point advantage at week 12, with effects seen from day 2.²

This followed a 198-person Phase 2b trial in JAMA, where the effect was still there at week 12.³

Definium plans to meet the FDA before the end of 2026 and file in the first half of 2027.²

Earlier, an academic Phase 2 trial in Switzerland (42 people) also found LSD-assisted therapy reduced anxiety.⁴

In a 12-person randomised pilot, MDMA-assisted therapy reduced social anxiety in autistic adults more than placebo.⁵

In a 71-person Phase 2a trial, two doses of R-MDMA (EMP-01) without psychotherapy improved social anxiety scores by about 12 points more than placebo. The trial wasn't powered for significance. Eli Lilly agreed to buy the developer in July 2026.⁶⁷

In a randomised, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial of 73 adults with GAD, two psilocybin sessions cut anxiety scores by 12.8 points versus 3.6 with placebo. These are company-reported results; the full paper isn't out yet.⁸

Small studies in treatment-resistant generalised and social anxiety show quick relief that fades within days to a couple of weeks.⁹¹⁰

A systematic review found signals worth researching, but nothing near guideline-level evidence.¹¹

The same review found very low-quality evidence for anxiety disorders; the only signal was low-quality evidence of small improvements in anxiety in people with other medical conditions.¹²