Eli Lilly agreed to buy psychedelics developer AtaiBeckley for $2.8 billion upfront, adding a late-stage Phase IIb psychedelic program to its neuroscience portfolio. Under the deal, Lilly will pay $6.75 per share in cash plus up to $2.50 per share in contingent value rights tied to milestones for two AtaiBeckley compounds. AtaiBeckley’s lead asset, BPL-003 (mebufotenin benzoate), is an intranasal serotonergic psychedelic being evaluated for treatment-resistant depression, following Phase IIb results that showed symptom reductions beginning on day two. The acquisition follows broader big-pharma interest in psychedelics amid shifting regulatory comfort. For Lilly, the deal extends beyond its cardiometabolic franchise and sets up a new development track in psychiatry with a complex regulatory pathway, while AtaiBeckley gains scale and resources for pivotal planning.