AUSTIN (Nexstar) — A program designed to conduct drug development clinical trials for a psychedelic drug in Texas hit a road bump after the state could not find a drug company to help develop a FDA-approved drug.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows jointly announced the state would proceed with its own research program on Tuesday.

“We intend to fully fund this program, and will work in partnership with our great medical research teams in Texas to conduct the research,” the joint statement from the leaders of the Texas legislature read.

Last year the legislature almost unanimously passed a bill that directs the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to oversee a program that would research a psychedelic drug called ibogaine and develop a FDA-approved drug.

Notable veterans, like retired U.S. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, lobbied lawmakers to create some support for the drug. Ibogaine is currently a Schedule 1 drug in the United States. Ibogaine is a “plant-based psychoactive substance derived from the iboga shrub, a plant native to Central Africa,” according to UTHealth Houston. In 2024, a study by Stanford University found ibogaine has potential to effectively treat patients with traumatic brain injuries.

Luttrell traveled to Mexico to receive treatment of ibogaine. “I took that medication and I laid down that night,” Luttrell told lawmakers in a committee hearing in 2025. “I woke up the next morning and I had no appetite for opioids. I had no appetite for alcohol.”

Ibogaine advocate Bryan Hubbard has been pushing for more support of ibogaine around the country. Even with the setback in Texas, Hubbard commended leadership’s position to fully fund the program.

“This is about life or death, and the Texas commitment reflects the seriousness of the calls that we are here to see through to the end,” Hubbard said.

The state decided to allocate $50 million to a grant program controlled by Texas HHSC. The commission selected UTHealth Houston and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to lead the multi-year clinical trials along with hospitals and a drug developer. The universities will study the effects of ibogaine on patients with addiction, traumatic brain injuries, and other behavioral health conditions.

Unfortunately the state was unable to find a drug developer that met the requirements laid out in the statute. Drug companies would have to match the state investment, maintain a commercial presence in Texas, give the state 20% of the profits from any drug it developed from the trials, among other requirements.

Katharine Harris, a drug policy fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said she did not find it surprising the state could not find a developer to meet those requirements.

“We’re talking about a research area that is relatively high risk at the FDA level and also on the scientific and medical side,” Harris explained.

The next steps for the program remain unclear at this point. Harris said the statute only allows the $50 million state investment to be released after private donations have matched that amount. It’s unclear at this point if any money has been privately raised to help fund the program. Harris said in order for the drug to reach FDA-approval will likely cost more than $100 million.

“So that’s another open question here is how much how much of state resources is Texas willing to commit to this project,” Harris said.

Harris added that she has confidence the universities that are part of the program are more than capable to conduct the clinical trials, but she’s unaware if the state has ever solely gone through the FDA-approval process for a drug.

“It’s typically an area that we have ceded to the private industry,” Harris explained.

Nexstar reached out to Patrick’s office to ask about the next steps for the program. A spokesperson in his office said Patrick was unable to speak with a reporter this week.

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