Eli Lilly will buy a psychedelic drug developer for up to $3.8 billion, a sign of rising interest in using the chemicals as psychiatric treatments.
AtaiBeckley’s BPL-003 psychedelic nasal spray is in late-stage trials to test its effectiveness against treatment-resistant depression; analysts estimate that if it succeeds, it could generate annual sales of up to $1-$2 billion.
The theory is that psychedelic drugs relax strongly held but inappropriate negative beliefs and, in combination with therapy, allow patients to form truer ones. But testing that theory is difficult — placebo-blinded trials are tricky to do when the real drug makes patients hallucinate — and the industry has faced scandals where therapists abused subjects.