In brief
- ARPA-H, the US health innovation agency, has opened the ASCENT-IBO call to fund the first phase 1 and 2 clinical trials for ibogaine in treating opioid use disorder.
- According to the agency, there are currently no federally authorized trials in the US studying ibogaine for this indication, despite clinical reports of opioid withdrawal reduction.
- Ibogaine remains a Schedule I substance; the informational session for potential applicants is September 15, and the deadline for proposals is October 15.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), under the US Department of Health and Human Services, has launched a specific call for proposals to fund clinical trials using ibogaine for individuals with opioid use disorder. This marks the first time a US federal program has committed public funding to rigorously investigate this substance, which has traditionally been relegated to offshore clinics and the underground.
What ASCENT-IBO funds
The program, identified as ARPA-H-SN-26-158 and dubbed ASCENT-IBO, is seeking teams capable of designing and executing combined phase 1 and 2 trials, with the stated goal of paving the way for a future phase 3. The agency notes that more than five million people in the US live with this disorder and that over 75% do not receive any treatment, despite the existence of options like buprenorphine or methadone. Applications, limited to six pages, must be submitted by October 15, following an informational session for potential applicants on September 15. ARPA-H has not yet disclosed the funding amount allocated to each project.
A substance with clinical history but no active US trials
Ibogaine, an alkaloid extracted from the root of Tabernanthe iboga—a plant with centuries of ritual use in Central Africa, among the Bwiti of Gabon—has generated clinical reports for years, primarily from clinics outside the US, regarding its ability to abruptly interrupt opioid withdrawal syndrome. This promise exists alongside a well-documented medical risk: it can prolong the heart’s QT interval, which in unmonitored settings has been associated with severe arrhythmias. It is precisely this lack of controlled data on dosages and supervision protocols that a regulated trial, with electrocardiograms and medical personnel present, aims to clarify. Texas has already allocated its own funds—up to $100 million—to a consortium led by UTHealth Houston to investigate the substance independently; ARPA-H is now adding federal muscle to that state-level push, in line with the coordination between six federal agencies that Washington initiated earlier this year.
What this implies
The move is part of the executive order signed by the Trump Administration in April 2026 to accelerate research into psychedelic therapies for severe mental health conditions. It does not, by itself, change the legal status of ibogaine, which remains on Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act: outside of an authorized trial, it cannot be prescribed or administered in a clinic. What it does change is that, for the first time, there is a public pathway and budget for the substance to undergo the same scrutiny as any other drug in development. For those who already turn to ibogaine outside of this framework, whether by personal choice or lack of alternatives, the underlying lesson remains the same: the cardiac risk is real, and harm reduction requires prior medical screening and supervision during the session, regardless of the setting.
Source
- ARPA-H (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health). ASCENT-IBO: Ibogaine for Opioid Use Disorder. US Department of Health and Human Services, August 2026.
Educational content written from a harm reduction perspective and with respect for individual freedom. It is not a substitute for advice from a healthcare professional and is not intended to encourage or condemn any drug use.
