Beckley Psytech has completed Series B financing, raising $80 million from venture capital (VC) investors to fund its research programmes. The financing was initially set at $50 million and was upsized to $80 million due to interest from investors in broadening and accelerating the clinical development of Beckley Psytech’s research pipeline.
Beckley Psytech will use the proceeds to complete the ongoing Phase Ib trial with low-dose psilocybin in patients suffering from SUNHA, a rare and debilitating headache condition estimated to affect 45,000 people in the US and Europe, and to initiate a Phase I dose-ranging study on a novel formulation of intranasal 5-MeO-DMT before starting a Phase II trial in Treatment Resistant Depression. The funding will also support the expansion of the company’s pipeline with new psychedelic compounds.
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.”
Dr Amy Kruse, Partner at Integrated’s consortium Prime Movers Lab, said: “It is nearly impossible to find a team with more experience in developing psychedelic medicines for neurological conditions than the one at Beckley Psytech. The Covid-19 pandemic brought mental health to the public’s attention in a profound way. The excitement around psychedelics in the mental health market is very real because they are transformative medicines that will soon make their way into the lives of millions of people who desperately need them.”
