Psychedelic merger to create AtaiBeckley completes

The merger of two pioneers of psychedelic medicines has completed with the creation of AtaiBeckley, a company with a pipeline of candidates for mental illnesses.

The finalisation of the proposed marriage between Germany's atai Life Sciences and UK-based Beckley Psytech was confirmed after 98% of atai shareholders voted in favour at an extraordinary general meeting yesterday.

The $390 million takeover of Beckley by atai creates what AtaiBeckley calls an "industry-leading" pipeline of investigational psychedelic treatments led by BPL-003 (mebufotenin benzoate nasal spray), poised to start phase 3 trials in treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Finalisation of the transaction was contingent on positive results in a phase 2b trial of BPL-003, which came in July. Beckley said at the time that the candidate had hit all primary and secondary endpoints in the study, with the result followed by a $150 million fundraising by atai to help fund a phase 3 programme that is now due to start in the second quarter of 2026.

Cash reserves on hand should be sufficient to fund operations into 2029, through the anticipated readout from the first phase 3 trial of BPL-003.

The psychedelic is administered in controlled circumstances, with psychological support, and achieved statistically significant reductions in depressive symptoms at all time points of the eight-week study compared to a 0.3 mg low-dose active control, with the majority of patients able to be discharged within 90 minutes of the single administration. It has been awarded a breakthrough designation by the FDA.

Following after in the combined company's pipeline are mid-clinical-stage assets VLS-01 for TRD and EMP-01 for social anxiety, as well as a portfolio of novel 5-HT2A receptor agonists, including non-hallucinogenic neuroplastogens, in preclinical development.

AtaiBeckley chief executive Srinivas Rao – previously CEO of atai – said: "Around the world, too many people continue to suffer without effective treatments, and AtaiBeckley is taking a decisive step toward changing this."

He added that the AtaiBeckley is "a well-financed, phase 3-ready company with a strong team in place to execute on our mission and I am excited by what we can achieve together, with our team fully committed to creating breakthroughs in mental health."

Beckley's CEO and co-founder, Cosmo Feilding Mellen, will serve on AtaiBeckley's board of directors, with atai founder Christian Angermayer continuing to act as chairman of the combined company, which will now relocate to Delaware in the US.