atai Life Sciences (NASDAQ: ATAI) and closely held Beckley Psytech announced a definitive agreement to combine in an all-share transaction subject to Phase 2b success criteria of BPl-003 in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD).
According to atai, the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025 with the combined company operating under the name atai Beckley.
Srinivas Rao, MD, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of atai, commented, “The strategic combination marks a transformational moment, solidifying us as a leader in rapid-acting and accessible psychedelic treatments for mental health conditions with a pipeline of potential first-in-class and best-in-class assets. With a unified vision and synergistic pipeline, we believe we are well positioned to unlock the strategic value of our clinical development programs for both patients and shareholders. Together we plan to move confidently towards our goal of bringing innovative interventional psychiatry therapies to patients in need of new treatments.”
Cosmo Fielding Mellen, CEO and co-founder of Beckley, remarked, “This combination brings together two highly complementary pipelines to create a market leader at the forefront of psychiatric care. Clinical data has shown the rapid and durable effects of our compounds, as well as the potential to fit within the existing treatment paradigm established by SPRAVATO. We believe that the unified business will be even better positioned to accelerate development, drive long-term value for shareholders, and—most importantly—deliver meaningful innovation for patients.”
