The Food and Drug Administration on Friday afternoon announced it is denying the use of MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, a major setback for the 13 million Americans looking for a new treatment for the mental health disorder.

The public health agency was expected to release the decision on the approval of the ecstacy-based drug the week of August 12.

Veterans advocacy organizations had increased lobbying efforts for the Biden administration to greenlight the treatment in the several weeks after an FDA advisory committee recommended not approve the drug.

Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of 61 House members and 19 senators wrote to the President Biden and FDA Commissioner Robert Califf in support of approving MDMA-AT for the treatment of PTSD to combat the veteran suicide crisis.

Since 9/11, 150,000 veterans have taken their own lives, which is more than 21 times the number of people from the United States who lost their lives in active war zones since 2001.

There has not been a new treatment for PTSD for nearly 25 years.