Eli Lilly has agreed to acquire psychedelic drugmaker AtaiBeckley in a deal valued at up to $2.8 billion upfront, sending shares of the target company soaring over 30% in premarket trading. The acquisition, announced late Wednesday, will see Lilly pay $6.75 per share in cash — a 40% premium to AtaiBeckley’s 30-day volume-weighted average price — with shareholders potentially receiving an additional $2.50 per share if certain developmental and regulatory milestones are met, bringing the total potential deal value to $9.25 per share or roughly $3.8 billion.
AtaiBeckley (ATAI) stock jumped 34% to $7.19 in Thursday’s premarket, after briefly spiking more than 50% on the initial Bloomberg report. The rally lifted other psychedelic-focused names: GH Research rose 15%, Compass Pathways gained 7%, Definium Therapeutics climbed 6%, and Enveric Biosciences added 3%. Analysts at BMO Capital Markets suggested ongoing talks with other pharmaceutical companies could push the takeout price even higher, while RBC Capital Markets called the sector’s move toward the mainstream a continuing theme.
AtaiBeckley’s lead candidate, BPL-003, is an intranasal formulation of 5-MeO-DMT that has received FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for treatment-resistant depression. In a Phase 2b study, it demonstrated rapid and durable reductions in depressive symptoms after a single two-hour clinic visit, and Phase 3 activities have already begun. A second program, VLS-01 (a buccal film formulation of DMT), is in an ongoing Phase 2b trial. The deal fits Lilly’s aggressive neuroscience push — most recently marked by its $7.8 billion buyout of Centessa Pharmaceuticals — and adds late-stage neuroplastogen assets designed to restore synaptic connectivity rather than just modulate neurotransmitters.
Lilly shares edged 0.1% lower to $1,155.52, giving back early gains. The transaction, expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. Apeiron Investment Group and other insiders holding roughly 15% of AtaiBeckley’s shares have already backed the deal.
