Beckley acquires Eleusis, strengthening pipeline of psychedelic-based therapeutics
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Beckley Psytech Ltd. announced that it has acquired clinical-stage life science company Eleusis Therapeutics Ltd., with the aim of bolstering its pipeline of psychedelic-based therapeutics.
Under the terms of the agreement revealed in a release issued by the company, Beckley will receive full developmental and commercial rights for Eleusis’ assets including ELE-101, a novel, intravenous short-duration formation of psilocin, the active metabolite of psilocybin.
The proprietary formulation of psilocin may potentially to deliver a more consistent and controllable response in patients, with a rapid onset and significantly shorter treatment duration compared to previously produced oral formulations, according to the release.
Beckley stated it expects to initiate a phase 1 single ascending dose study of ELE-101 in healthy volunteers before the end of 2022, with a proof-of-concept phase 2a clinical study in patients with depression following soon after.
“Our highly focused pipeline, now strengthened with a phase 1 ready, next generation, short-acting psychedelic, will deliver multiple value inflection points over the next 18 months,” Cosmo Mellen, CEO of Beckley, stated in the release. “We are also very pleased to welcome the Eleusis team and we look forward to benefiting from their exceptional knowledge and experience.”
The release additionally stated that Beckley selected BPL-003 as its lead candidate for its upcoming MHRA-approved phase 2 studies in depression and alcohol use disorder in combination with psychotherapy. BPL-003, a patented intranasal benzoate formulation of 5-MeO-DMT, has demonstrated tolerability and favorable pharmacokinetics in an ongoing randomized, single ascending dose phase 1 study.
“Beckley have been pioneers in psychedelic science for more than two decades and we are excited to become a part of that story through this transaction,” Shlomi Raz, CEO and founder of Eleusis, said in the release. “I am thrilled to be joining the leadership team at Beckley Psytech as we look to develop meaningful, practical and cost-effective solutions and treatments to these devastating conditions.”