Beckley Psytech raises $80m to advance psychedelic medicines pipeline

Clinical stage pharmaceutical company Beckley Psytech has raised $80 million in an oversubscribed Series B financing round to help accelerate its pipeline of psychedelic medicines for neurological and psychiatric disorders. 

Beckley Psytech will use the funding to complete an on-going Phase 1b trial testing a low-dose of psilocybin in patients suffering from a rare headache condition known as SUNHA. The company will also initiate a Phase 1 dose-ranging study on a formulation of the psychedelic compound 5-MeO-DMT before starting a Phase 2 trial in Treatment Resistant Depression. 

The Series B financing was initially set at $50 million but was increased to $80 million after overwhelming interest from investors. 

The financing round is led by Integrated, a healthcare focused VC which partners with companies and entrepreneurs that are transforming the health and well-being of communities around the globe. The science-focused investor consortium includes Prime Movers Labs, which funds breakthrough scientific startups; Adage Capital Management LP, a Boston based institutional investor; Palo Santo; Delphi VC; Leafy Tunnel; Negev Capital; and existing investor Bicycle Day Ventures.

 Cosmo Feilding Mellen, CEO of Beckley Psytech, said: “My life’s passion has been to unlock the therapeutic potential of psychedelics as I believe these compounds could help millions of people around the world. The progress Beckley Psytech has made in attracting exceptional talent to the team and advancing our ambitious clinical development programmes over the past two years has been tremendously exciting. As we embark on our next phase of growth, our strong syndicate of expert investors will support us in bringing much-needed innovative treatments to patients suffering from neurological and psychiatric conditions."

Jay Newmark, general partner of Integrated, added: “Cosmo and his dedicated team at Beckley Psytech have created an exceptional research and development platform. Their highly differentiated approach, which treats not only large indications such as depression but also rare indications such as SUNHA, is allowing accelerated access to market. We deeply appreciate our value alignment with this team and eagerly anticipate their progress in improving access to these medicines.”