Welcome to Psychedelic Alpha.

Independent data-driven reporting, analysis and commentary on the psychedelics space: from business and drug development through to policy reform and culture.

Plus incubation, consultancy, and advisory for this emerging field. ∎

Insights, Delivered

Join over ten thousand psychedelic insiders…

For in-depth analysis and insights, consider our paid offering…

Our data and insights are cited in…

Data

Open access data on psychedelic policy reform, patents and drug development activity.

Support

Consultancy, advisory and incubation offerings for investors, entrepreneurs, and beyond.

Our data and insights are cited in…

We Support

INCUBATION & GROWTH

Entrepreneurs and Startups

Whether you’re at the idea-formation stage or raising early-stage funding, we’re here to help across the entire psychedelic value chain and company life-cycle.

ADVISORY & CONSULTANCY

Investors and Corporates

We help investors and corporates of all stripes understand and support the psychedelics space: from synidcates and VCs through to instituionals.

INSIGHTS & ANALYSIS

Psychedelic Insiders and the Curious

Join our newsletter to stay abreast of the rapidly emergent psychedelics industry: from clinical trials and patents through to healing centres and decriminalisation.

Our latest insights

Pα+ Psychedelic Bulletin #150: Drug Development and Research Updates

November 29, 2023

GH Research’s Lead 5-MeO-DMT Candidate Faces Development Hiccup • Psychae Therapeutics Scores AUD $4.5m to Develop DMT-Based Candidate • Cybin Closes $30m Offering • Grants Awarded to 8 ‘Young Investigators’ Exploring Psychedelics • atai Buys Out Remainder of DemeRx’s Ibogaine Asset; Announces Novel 5-HT2A Agonist Candidates • Compass Commences UK Portion of Phase 3 Trial, Officially Opens London Centre • Awakn Plans to Commence Enrollment for Phase 3 Study of Ketamine for Severe Alcohol Use Disorder in Q1 2024 • 14% of travellers are interested in a psychedelic retreat in 2024

Pα+ Psychedelic Bulletin #149: Worldwide Psychedelic Policy Developments

November 17, 2023

TREAT Retreats • Wiener Regroups: Decrim. Off the Agenda • California Psilocybin Decrim. Initiative Continues Signature Gathering • Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health Discusses Psychedelics • Canadian Senate Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs: “The Time is Now” to Fund Psychedelic Research • Transform Publishes “Practical Guide” to Regulating Psychedelics • UK Government Responds to Drugs Committee’s Report • Other Policy-Related News

Pα+: A Nue Lease of Life? Beckley Waves Acquires Struggling At-Home Ketamine Provider Nue Life Health

November 10, 2023

Pα+ subscriber content: We speak to former employees and take a closer look at Nue Life’s trajectory from the highs of a $23m Series A through to reports of bankruptcy. We then talk to Beckley Waves’ Dan Love about the group’s plans to breathe new life into the company.

The Psychedelic Renaissance

After a half-century of prohibition, psychedelics are once again entering the mainstream.

Today’s so-called “psychedelic renaissance” is represented by a seemingly exponential increase in research and development activity, billions of dollars of funding, psychedelic policy reform initiatives and successes across the world, and changing public perceptions. ∎

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials involving psychedelics started, per year

Phase 3 trials of MDMA-assisted therapy have been completed, with Phase 3 study of psilocybin underway.

$4+ billion

Invested in public and private psychedelic companies since 2020.

Psychedelic policy reforms are gaining pace at the federal, state and local level in the U.S. and internationally.

80.9%

of psychiatrists agreed that psychedelics show promise in treating psychiatric disorders.

Barnett et al., 2023

On “Alpha”

‘Alpha’, in the investing world, refers to an excess return on investment relative to a benchmark. But we broaden the definition of alpha on both ends to include more than just economic returns on more than just economic investments.

Instead, we conceptualise alpha as the excess return on myriad investments that people may make in the present and future of psychedelics: beyond economic capital, people might invest time, energy, and effort, for example. And that excess return might not be (purely) financial, it might also be realised through a more impactful treatment paradigm for mental health, for example, where the ‘benchmark’ is the inadequate status quo.

All this to say, we’re not only for investors. In fact, most of our readers aren’t: many of them are practitioners, regulators, entrepreneurs, and so on. ∎