UTHealth Houston, in collaboration with UTMB Health, awarded $50 million by the state of Texas to lead ibogaine clinical trials

Together, the institutions will combine expertise, resources, and clinical capabilities to advance ibogaine research in service of improving behavioral health outcomes across Texas and beyond. (Photo by Terry Vine)

UTHealth Houston, in collaboration with The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB Health), has been awarded $50 million from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to lead a collaborative two-year, multicenter research trial that will evaluate the effect of ibogaine on patients suffering from addiction, traumatic brain injury, and other behavioral health conditions.

The statewide partnership — Ibogaine Medicine for PTSD, Addiction, and Cognitive Trauma (IMPACT) — will be led by UTHealth Houston and UTMB Health, and includes a broad consortium of leading Texas institutions: Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, The University of Texas at Tyler, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Texas A&M University, The University of North Texas Health Science Center, Baylor College of Medicine, and JPS Health Network in Dallas.

Together, the institutions will combine expertise, resources, and clinical capabilities to advance ibogaine research in service of improving behavioral health outcomes across Texas and beyond. UTHealth Houston and partners will focus on ibogaine treatment for addiction and associated conditions; UT Austin and Baylor College of Medicine will concentrate their study on traumatic brain injury, particularly in veterans.

“This landmark clinical trial reflects our unwavering commitment to advancing research that improves lives and delivers the highest standards of care,” said Melina Kibbe, MD, UTHealth Houston president and Alkek-Williams Distinguished Chair. “By joining forces with outstanding partners across our state, we are building on Texas’ tradition of innovation to ensure patients struggling with addiction and behavioral health conditions have access to the best possible outcomes. Together, we are shaping discoveries that will serve Texans and set a model for the nation.”

Charles Green, PhD, co-principal investigator of the trial, expressed his thanks to Texas Health and Human Services. “We are thankful to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and thrilled to be part of an innovative, clinical research effort with the potential for medical breakthroughs benefiting not only a lot of Texans, but national and international communities,” said Green, a professor at UTHealth Houston School of Behavioral Health Sciences and the Institute for Clinical Research and Learning Health Care at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston.

At UTMB Health, Kathryn A. Cunningham, PhD, professor and vice chair for the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and director of the school’s Center for Addiction Sciences and Therapeutics, shared her confidence that Texas will be in a position of leadership. “Our clinical trial experience, infrastructure, and resources, combined with the strengths of our partner institutions across the state, will put Texas at the forefront of the development of these medications for use in the United States,” she said.

Ibogaine is a plant-based psychoactive substance derived from the iboga shrub, a plant native to Central Africa. A 2024 study conducted by Stanford University and published in Nature Medicine suggests ibogaine’s potential as a promising treatment for patients with traumatic brain injuries — a leading cause of post-traumatic stress disorder.

In addition to traumatic brain injury treatment, ibogaine has shown potential as a treatment for addiction and other neurological conditions. The opioid crisis, declared a national public health emergency in 2017, has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans and remains a critical challenge.

“Texas has a responsibility to pursue solutions that are driven by evidence, compassion, and accountability — especially when the stakes involve addiction, traumatic brain injury, and the invisible wounds carried by so many of our veterans,” said state Sen. Tan Parker. “This landmark clinical trial ensures that ibogaine is studied through the highest scientific and medical standards, with patient safety at the forefront. By bringing together our state’s leading research institutions, Texas is choosing innovation over inertia and offering real hope to families who have waited far too long for better treatment options.”

The collaborative initiative will allow UTHealth Houston and its partner institutions to seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration to make ibogaine treatments accessible while accelerating the research and development of the psychoactive substance.

The consortium will include drug developers and teaching hospitals to conduct FDA-approved clinical trials. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission will oversee the grant program, which requires nonstate matching funds equivalent to the state’s investment.

“This is the first major step towards the legislature’s goal of obtaining FDA approval through clinical trials of ibogaine — a potential breakthrough medication that has brought thousands of America’s war-fighters back from the darkest parts of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and chronic addiction,” said state Rep. Cody Harris. “I am excited to walk alongside UTHealth Houston and UTMB as these stellar institutions lead the nation in a first-of-its-kind clinical trial in the U.S.”

Creation of the consortium was authorized by the passage of Senate Bill 2308, which provides $50 million in state-matching funds for an ibogaine clinical trial managed by a public university in partnership with a drug company and hospital.

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