Joseph Haas and Emma Wille overview the dealmaking environment for psychedelic medicine given recent developments in the space: Eli Lilly&#x27;s $2.8 billion acquisition of AtaiBeckley in July, the imminent FDA filing of Compass Pathways&#x27; COMP360 for treatment-resistant depression and a more relaxed regulatory environment for psychedelic therapies under the current administration.

Assessing the current dealmaking environment for psychedelic medicine.

Citeline Podcasts

[SPEAKER_00] Welcome to the inaugural Citeline Podcasts. I'm Joe Haas, a senior writer with Scripp, where I head up our deals coverage. In a previous incarnation, this podcast was known as the Scripp M&A Podcast, but with our new name, we also have broadened our focus to look at the entire spectrum of dealmaking in the biopharmaceutical sector, from mergers and acquisitions to financing and alliance deals.

[SPEAKER_00] Please note that Scripp now has its own dedicated podcast channel. You can follow the Scripp Due Diligence Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Our topic today is a timely one for multiple reasons. We're going to discuss dealmaking potential in the psychedelic medicine space, and joining us today is Emma Willey, a senior analyst with Data Monitor Healthcare focused on central nervous system diseases. Hi, Emma. Thanks for joining us.

[SPEAKER_01] Hey, thanks for having me on, Joe.

[SPEAKER_00] You're welcome, and thank you. The psychedelic medicine space grabbed our attention in July when Eli Lilly, as part of its extremely productive dealmaking year, agreed to pay $2.8 billion upfront to acquire a Ty Beckley and its Phase III candidate for treatment-resistant depression, BPL-003, a formulation of 5-MEO-DMT.

[SPEAKER_00] Earnout provisions could bring that deal's value to as high as $3.8 billion would make it a very large deal for this space, maybe the largest to date. The deal occurred at a time when psychedelic medicine is seen as somewhat de-risked by the biopharma sector.

[SPEAKER_00] The approval of Johnson & Johnson Spravato in 2019 and its subsequent commercial success has provided some guidance for how the market might evolve for psychedelic therapies, even though esketamine, that's the generic name of Spravato, technically is not a psychedelic. The drug is approved for 2-depression indications.

Assessing the current dealmaking environment for psychedelic medicine.

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Assessing the current dealmaking environment for psychedelic medicine.

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.