AUSTIN, Texas — Texas officials on Tuesday announced that the state will launch its own research program into the psychedelic drug ibogaine after failing to secure a partnership with a private company, allocating $50 million in state funds to support the effort and advance development toward potential federal approval.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows said the state will partner with medical researchers across Texas after determining that proposals from pharmaceutical companies did not meet the requirements tied to the funding. The program will proceed using funds approved by the Legislature last year.
State officials required private companies seeking participation to present a plan for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, establish a corporate presence in Texas, match the state’s $50 million investment, and commit a share of future revenue. Officials said no applicants met those conditions.
Katharine Neill Harris of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy said the requirements may have discouraged participation, noting that ibogaine research carries financial and regulatory risks.
Lawmakers approved the funding under Senate Bill 2308, signed into law by Greg Abbott in 2025, which created a consortium of universities, hospitals and drug developers to conduct clinical trials and pursue federal approval for ibogaine as a treatment. The drug, derived from an African shrub, has been studied for potential use in treating addiction and traumatic brain injury but remains illegal in the United States.
State officials did not say how the program will meet statutory requirements that call for a private funding match. Harris said additional legislative or legal changes may be needed for the state to release funds without a private partner.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission previously selected UTHealth Houston, in partnership with University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, to lead a two-year clinical trial examining ibogaine’s effects on patients with addiction and other behavioral health conditions.
Officials said the state will continue efforts to advance the research program, though the total cost to bring a drug to federal approval is expected to exceed the initial funding.
