Mentioned:
Eli Lilly has a new ambition: psychedelic drug development.
What’s happening:
- Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) has entered into a new deal to acquire AtaiBeckley (NASDAQ: ATAI) for up to $3.5B USD
By the numbers:
- Eli Lilly will give AtaiBeckley shareholders $6.75 USD per share in cash and an additional payment of up to $2.50 USD per share upon the successful completion of specific drug development and regulatory milestones
Why it matters:
- This is the first time ever that Eli Lilly has acquired a psychedelic drug discovery company
Going deeper:
- AtaiBeckley’s two lead psychedelic derived compounds BPL-003 and VLS-01 are both designed to be short acting psychedelics that complete the entire therapeutic process in roughly two hours, which is a significant difference compared to other psychedelic medicines which can take anywhere from six to twelve hours
- Billionaire entrepreneur and investor Christian Angermayer is the co-founder of AtaiBeckley and the single largest shareholder of the company through his family office Apeiron Investment Group
