Psychedelic drugmaker AtaiBeckley soars on reports of potential Eli Lilly acquisition

Shares of AtaiBeckley, a small-cap developer of therapies for depression and anxiety, surged more than 57% in premarket trading on Thursday. The rally was sparked by a Bloomberg report that pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is interested in acquiring the company. The news comes as the U.S. eases regulation of psychedelics as medicine.

AtaiBeckley jumped more than 57% in premarket trading on Thursday to $8.40 per share after Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that Eli Lilly is in talks to acquire the company and could announce a takeover as soon as this week.

Bloomberg's sources did not disclose the potential deal value, but said Lilly is negotiating an acquisition at a premium to the company's market value. At the close on Wednesday, AtaiBeckley had a market capitalization of $1.98 billion.

If completed, the transaction would deepen Eli Lilly's presence in neuroscience drugs, where "the company helped transform the treatment of depression with Prozac three decades ago," Bloomberg wrote. Eli Lilly declined to comment to Bloomberg.

AtaiBeckley is one of several companies poised to usher in "this new era of psychedelics," Bloomberg writes. The company was formed in 2025 through the merger of Atai Life Sciences, founded by German entrepreneur Christian Angermayer, and Beckley Psytech.

One of its earliest investors was Peter Thiel, the cofounder of Palantir and PayPal. "Atai’s great virtue is to take mental illness as seriously as we should have been taking all illness all along," Thiel told CNBC in 2021.

The small-cap company currently has three lead development programs. Two are in phase II clinical trials, while its lead candidate, BPL-003, has advanced to phase III. Designed to treat treatment-resistant depression, BPL-003 is a fast-acting nasal spray.

"We really wanted something that was going to be patient friendly and doctor friendly," Bloomberg quoted AtaiBeckley CEO Srinivas Rao as saying.

Earlier in March, Bloomberg reported that the company had hired Jefferies and JPMorgan to explore commercialization options for BPL-003. Those options could include either a sale of the asset or a partnership with another pharmaceutical company, the people said. According to Bloomberg, AtaiBeckley was seeking at least $2 billion from such a deal.

News of Eli Lilly's interest in AtaiBeckley comes at a "pivotal moment" for psychedelic medicine, Bloomberg notes. After years on the fringes of drug development, the field has been buoyed by the success of Johnson & Johnson's Spravato, promising trial results, and support from the Trump administration.

In April, Trump signed an executive order accelerating research and expanding patient access to psychedelic therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder that are not yet used in the U.S.

The move triggered a rally in shares of psychedelic drugmakers. Oppenheimer analyst Jay Olson told Bloomberg the executive order "represents a structural inflection for the U.S. psychedelics sector by facilitating research, regulatory timelines, and patient access."

AtaiBeckley stock is up 31% year to date. Wall Street is unanimously bullish on the name. All 15 analysts covering AtaiBeckley rate it a "buy," according to MarketWatch data. Their average target price is $13.85 per share, implying 140% upside versus the Wednesday closing price.