Beckley Psytech has confirmed it has received a strategic investment of USD$50 million from atai Life Sciences to accelerate the development of Beckley Psytech’s two clinical-stage, patent-protected, short-duration psychedelic candidates.
The candidates, BPL-003 and ELE-101, will be advanced by their inclusion in atai’s mental health innovation platform. BPL-003 is a novel, short-duration, intranasal formulation of 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT also known as Mebufotenin), and ELE-101 is a novel intravenous formulation of psilocin, the primary moiety of psilocybin.
atai Founder and Chairman, Christian Angermayer stated: “This transaction underscores our conviction in the potential of psychedelics as groundbreaking treatments for people living with mental health disorders. Short-duration psychedelics have the potential to offer similar clinical benefit to longer-acting psychedelics, in a more efficient and scalable way, which could lead to increased patient access.
“By including BPL-003 and ELE-101 in the atai platform, we are building the largest portfolio of psychedelic compounds with prior clinical evidence.”
Beckley Psytech’s CEO, Cosmo Feilding Mellen added: “Beckley Psytech and atai Life Sciences share a vision for the future of mental health treatment, and we are excited to join forces on the journey to develop effective, accessible, rapid-acting psychedelic medicines for people in need.
“Alongside the financial investment, we are optimistic about the numerous possible synergies of this collaboration, especially in developing digital tools to optimize patient support and planning for future commercialization.
“We look forward to exploring these in the coming months.”
BPL-003 is currently in development for Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), with three clinical trials underway.
The first trial is a global, multi-site, double-blind, randomized Phase IIb study in people living with TRD, evaluating the effects of a medium and high dose of BPL-003 against an active placebo comparator in 225 patients with moderate-to-severe TRD.
Medium and high dosages were found to reliably induce profound psychedelic experiences in a completed Phase I trial, with a rapid onset of psychedelic effects within minutes and the resolution of all perceptual effects within 60-90 minutes.
In addition to the Phase IIb study in TRD that is anticipated to read out in the second half of 2024, BPL-003 is also being investigated in two small Phase IIa open-label studies in TRD and AUD, with data expected in the first half of 2024 and mid-2024 respectively.
Beckley Psytech’s second candidate ELE-101 is being developed for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). This compound has the potential to offer the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin, which has demonstrated significant antidepressant effects in multiple clinical studies, in a more consistent, controllable, and shorter treatment paradigm of less than two hours. Initial results from the current ELE-01 Phase I/IIa study are anticipated in the first half of 2024.
atai Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Florian Brand added: “When it comes to mental health, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and the diverse pharmacology of our drug candidates acknowledges the heterogeneity of neuropsychiatric patient populations. Looking ahead to the next 12 months, adding to our already strong pipeline of potential catalysts, we anticipate this investment will lead to several additional meaningful clinical readouts, including topline results from the BPL-003 Phase 2b study, expected in the second half of 2024.”
