Three MDMA therapy papers retracted over ethics violations

The journal Psychopharmacology has retracted three papers about MDMA-assisted psychotherapy — right on the heels of the Food and Drug Administration’s rejection of the closely watched treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Many authors on the three studies are affiliated with the nonprofit Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and its commercial spinout Lykos Therapeutics, including founder Rick Doblin, who spearheaded the decades-long efforts to win approval for the psychedelic treatment. Lykos CEO Amy Emerson is an author as well.

The retractions were due to “protocol violations amounting to unethical conduct,” particularly during a Phase 2 trial at the MP4 study site in Canada, Psychopharmacology said. This site is where an unlicensed therapist was accused of sexual assault in civil court by a MAPS trial participant.

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