The Psychedelic Access and Research European Alliance – PAREA was officially launched today at a virtual event. Keynote Address was delivered by Dr Thomas Insel, former Director of the US National Institute of Mental Health (2002 – 2015). Other speakers included representatives from the European Parliament, European Commission, European Medicines Agency, patients and organizations representing them as well as PAREA members. 250 people registered to participate. The European Brain Council (EBC) is a founding member of PAREA.
The launch event brought together multiple stakeholders to discuss the scientific advances in the area of psychedelic medicines, bridging the gap between patients and innovation and improving the regulatory context for studies on psychedelic-assisted treatments.
At the event, PAREA members launched a Call to Action to European decision-makers. It elaborated on the following recommendations:
- Boost EU-funded research for psychedelic science
- Foster competitive clinical trials and regulatory framework for psychedelic-assisted therapies
- Create robust European psychotherapeutic standards to ensure optimal care and safety for patients
- Foster evidence-based drug policies to catalyse psychedelic innovation in the areas of huge unmet needs
- Develop European standards regarding training and infrastructure – before psychedelic treatments are approved – to build the patient access infrastructure that can meet the existing needs
PAREA is a non-profit, multistakeholder and multidisciplinary partnership bringing together 15 members spanning patient organizations, professional associations, umbrella organizations, psychedelic foundations, and for-profit sector. The Greek word ‘parea’ means to do something together and denotes a venue for the growth of the human spirit and the exploration of ideas to enrich our quality of life. Those values guide our joint efforts to change perceptions about psychedelic-assisted therapies, raise awareness of the scientific advances, scale-up and accelerate action and, ultimately, bring better health to European citizens.
PAREA believes that European health systems are not prepared for psychedelic treatments. The issues include inadequate clinical trial environment, obsolete drug control policies, the uniqueness of treatments that bring together both drugs and therapy that is currently not recognized by regulation, lack of infrastructure and trained therapists and other healthcare professionals, and lack of standards to ensure optimal care and safety for patients undergoing psychedelic-assisted therapies. All this is amplified by vast inequalities in healthcare delivery across Europe and poor mental health care and services. It is clear that without effective preparation, the novel psychedelic treatments may not reach patients who are often in desperate need of more effective interventions.
PAREA is coming together to address those challenges and provide evidence-based policy recommendations and expertise to the EU policymakers.
The meeting recording will soon be available on this page. Additionally, PAREA was featured in Parliament Magazine.
For more information, please contact Tadeusz Hawrot, PAREA Founder and Policy Lead: tadeusz@parea.science