Beckley raises $80 million for psychedelic drugs

Beckley Psytech has raised $80 million in series B financing to develop drugs from psychedelic compounds. The firm is one of a small but growing number of biotech start-ups pushing to make psychedelics part of mainstream medicine. The Oxford, England–based firm will use the money to support an ongoing Phase 1b trial using psilocybin, which is found in mushrooms, to treat a rare condition called short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks. Beckley also plans to test 5-MeO-DMT—a psychedelic found in plants and toads—as an intranasal spray for treatment-resistant depression.