AtaiBeckley Inc. is working with advisers to explore options for its flagship psychedelic drug candidate, according to people familiar with the matter.
The firm is looking at a potential sale or partnership for BPL-003, a nasal spray for treatment of severe depression that's entering phase 3 clinical trials, the people said. AtaiBeckley is aiming to fetch $2 billion or more from a deal and has picked Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to lead talks with other pharmaceutical companies, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private.
Under a co-commercialization agreement, AtaiBeckley would share responsibilities like stage 3 trial costs and marketing, while it splits revenues and profits with a partner, according to the people. A royalty deal could also be an option, some of the people said. The company aims to conclude talks in the second quarter, they added.
Shares of AtaiBeckley have fallen 17% this year, giving the company a market value of about $1.2 billion.
Deliberations are ongoing and no final decisions have been made, the people said. Representatives for AtaiBeckley, Jefferies and JPMorgan declined to comment.
Founded by Chairman Christian Angermayer and backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, AtaiBeckley focuses on developing rapid-acting and convenient mental health treatments. The bank appointments came as the US Food and Drug Administration gave the green light for BPL-003 to enter the next phase of trials following successful end-of-phase 2 meeting with the authority.
The use of psychedelics for severe depression has been gaining support in the US and abroad. More than 20 million adults in the US have the condition and roughly 30% haven't responded to treatment.
As one of the first movers, Johnson & Johnson turned its esketamine treatment Spravato, based on a compound with psychedelic-like features, into a blockbuster therapy for treatment-resistant depression. J&J's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joaquin Duato told investors in January that the nasal spray is a multibillion-dollar product that's "growing north of 50%."
In a similar deal, AbbVie Inc. last year agreed to buy an experimental depression treatment from Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals Inc. for up to $1.2 billion in a deal that highlights the drug industry's growing interest in next-generation psychedelic compounds.
In addition to BPL-003, AtaiBeckley is developing two other leading candidates for mental health: VLS-01, a psychedelic compound found in the hallucinogenic Amazonian brew ayahuasca, and EMP-01, an MDMA derivative that could treat social anxiety disorder.