Eli Lilly to Pay up to $3.8B for AtaiBeckley in Big Pharma’s Latest Psychedelic Foray

Big Pharma is taking another trip into psychedelics. 

On Thursday, Eli Lilly announced an agreement to buy the psychedelic drugmaker AtaiBeckley for $2.8 billion upfront and pay up to $1 billion more if certain conditions are met. The deal gives the world’s largest pharmaceutical company access to BPL-003, AtaiBeckley’s psychedelic-based nasal spray that studies have shown reduces treatment-resistant depression with a single dose, as competitors expand their footprints in the space. 

“We have validation that we are achieving what so many people thought was impossible: Psychedelics have reached mainstream awareness and acceptance,” Christian Angermayer, founder, largest shareholder and chairman of AtaiBeckley’s board, said in a post on X. 

New Perspectives

The buzz around Eli Lilly in recent years has been dominated by the explosive surge of its blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound. But while the company continues to make strides in that arena, it has parlayed the financial growth of those treatments into a bold push into the future of medicine. In May, for instance, a flush-with-cash Lilly announced three acquisitions meant to boost its infectious disease portfolio. 

Neuroscience isn’t a new space for Lilly. Its legacy includes introducing Prozac, arguably the best-known antidepressant, in the late 1980s, and its first medicine to treat Alzheimer’s disease in 2024. Its latest foray into neuroscience comes just after the White House ordered the Food and Drug Administration in April to fast-track research and approvals for psychedelics. 

The acquisition is just the latest evidence that the drug class has transitioned from a speculative biotechnology boom to a space in which Big Pharma is ready to invest time and money: 

• In October, AbbVie bought Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals’ lead drug Bretisilocin, which is designed to treat major depressive disorder, for up to $1.2 billion.  
• Johnson & Johnson’s stake in the game is depression drug Spravato. After a slow start when the drug became available in 2019, sales have more than doubled since 2023, growing to $1.7 billion. 

Journey Ahead: Wall Street seems to have fully bought into the psychedelic craze. Bloomberg reported that analysts estimate the market could generate about $7 billion in annual sales by 2032 if more psychedelic-adjacent therapies win approval.