Psychedelic medicines company Beckley Psytech has reached an agreement to acquire its rival Eleusis Therapeutics, in alignment with predictions that the sector is heading for a period of consolidation.
Just two days after receiving approval from the UK’s drug regulator to start a Phase I trial, Eleusis and blank check partner Silver Spike canceled their SPAC agreement, due to “current unfavorable market conditions.”
LONDON & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eleusis, a clinical-stage life science company that aims to unlock the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, and Silver Spike Acquisition Corp. II (“Silver Spike II” or “SPKB”) (NASDAQ: SPKB/SPKBU/SPKBW), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”), today announced that they have mutually agreed to terminate their previously announced agreement and plan of merger (the “Business Combination Agreement”), effective immediately, as a result of current unfavorable market conditions.
The blank-check market has been relatively quiet in the past few months for biotech startups looking to hit Wall Street, but Eleusis aims to make a dent in depression with $288 million for psychedelic-based medicines.
Eleusis, a clinical stage life science company established to develop the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, today announced the publication of its sponsored preclinical research in the American Chemical Society’s journal Chemical Neuroscience, which suggests that psychedelics may have more persistent antidepressant therapeutic efficacy than ketamine. The study also indicates that the antidepressant effect of psychedelics are both biological and context-dependent, and the subjective existential experience or “mystical experience” often associated with psychedelics may be correlated with, but not cause, the persisting antidepressant effect.