Atai Life Sciences and Beckley Psytech Announce Strategic Merger to Form Atai Beckley

LOS ANGELES- Atai Life Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company, and Beckley Psytech, a private UK-based biotechnology firm, have announced a definitive agreement to merge, creating a new entity named Atai Beckley. The all-share transaction values Beckley Psytech at approximately $370 million, with its shareholders set to receive about 105 million new shares, representing a 31% stake in the combined company .

The merger is contingent upon the successful outcome of Beckley Psytech’s Phase 2b clinical trial of BPL-003, a synthetic intranasal formulation of 5-MeO-DMT (mebufotenin benzoate), for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Topline data from this study, which is the largest controlled trial of mebufotenin in the U.S., is expected by mid-2025 .

In conjunction with the merger, Atai Life Sciences has secured a $30 million private placement from existing investors Ferring Ventures S.A. and Adage Capital Partners LP, aimed at supporting the combined entity’s clinical development programs.

The newly formed Atai Beckley will operate under a unified leadership team and board, leveraging the combined expertise of both organizations in psychedelic drug development and central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The merger is expected to close in the second half of 2025, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Atai Life Sciences’ stock (NASDAQ: ATAI) experienced a 13.4% increase to approximately $2.60 in pre-market trading following the announcement, before settling closer to a 3.5% gain in mid-morning trading .

The merger positions Atai Beckley as a prominent entity in the development of rapid-acting psychedelic therapies for mental health conditions, with a pipeline that includes potentially transformative assets differentiated by their convenient route of administration and short time-in-clinic .