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The United States will put up to $4.9 million into preparing the ground for clinical trials of ibogaine as a potential treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and other serious mental illnesses, the Department of Health and Human Services announced on Thursday, November 12, 2026, the day after Veterans Day.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the investment, made through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, known as ARPA-H, alongside leaders from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The money will go toward preparing applications to the Food and Drug Administration to allow future clinical trials in the United States, securing clinical-grade ibogaine, and developing processes to manufacture it in the United States.
The awards do not pay for treating patients or for research on human subjects, and they do not authorize clinical trials or amount to approval by the FDA. The initial commitment is up to $4.9 million over five years, with further awards expected, including work on ibogaine as a potential treatment for substance use disorders.
Two research teams were selected. One, led by the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company, will build the regulatory, clinical, chemical and engineering foundation for a domestically manufactured, single-molecule ibogaine hydrochloride product aimed at treating PTSD. The other, led by Beond Inc., will produce clinical data on the safety, dosing, effectiveness and durability of ibogaine. All award recipients will make their research data public to speed further study.
“Veterans kept their promise to this country. We must keep ours,” Kennedy said. “Veterans have told us ibogaine changed their lives. Their experiences demand serious scientific investigation. We will pursue the evidence, confront the risks and put affordability at the center of this work.”
VA Secretary Doug Collins said veterans deserve effective treatments and clear answers about their benefits and risks, adding that the VA looks forward to working with HHS to explore ibogaine and to prepare its clinicians to deliver new treatments if they earn FDA approval.
HHS said affordability is part of the plan from the start: if the medicine is developed successfully and earns FDA approval, the goal is to make it available at the cost of production plus a fair margin. The department also committed to publishing research findings whether they show benefit, no benefit or harm.
The announcement also included a $20 million funding opportunity from the National Institute of Mental Health to build a research network studying rapid-acting psychiatric drugs, including ketamine, esketamine and psilocybin. Recipients will be announced in the summer of 2027.
The move follows President Donald Trump’s executive order of April 18, 2026, directing at least $50 million toward research into psychedelic treatments for veterans, a push shaped in part by the advocacy of Joe Rogan. Texas has separately committed $50 million to ibogaine research.
Ibogaine is a psychedelic compound derived from the iboga shrub, native to Central Africa. It is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States, meaning the federal government considers it to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. A 2024 Stanford University study of 30 special operations veterans with traumatic brain injury who received ibogaine treatment in Mexico found significant improvements in PTSD, depression and anxiety after a single session, though the study had no control group and researchers said larger studies were needed.
HHS cautioned that ibogaine carries serious safety risks, including potentially life-threatening heart rhythm problems, and said future studies must include participant screening, cardiac monitoring and independent safety oversight. Experts have also urged caution about the claims made for the drug: Sandeep Nayak of the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research told Scientific American that the research so far “does not fully match the excessively rosy picture touted by advocates.”
Veterans in crisis, and anyone concerned about a veteran, can call 988 and press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line.