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 thousands of 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…

Our latest insights

Pα+ Psychedelic Bulletin #176: Drug Developers Discuss Trial Design; Massachusetts Vote is Too Close to Call as Last-Minute Donations Flow In; SEC Charges ‘Pump and Dump’ Scheme

October 11, 2024

Psychedelic Drug Developers Discuss Trial Design at Investor Event • Too Close to Call: Massachusetts Voters, Donors, to Decide Fate of State-Level Psychedelic Policy Reforms • Mushroom Mirage: SEC Charges Early Psychedelics Stock and Associates Over “Multimillion Dollar Pump-and-Dump” Scheme • and more…

Massachusetts Psychiatrists Push Back on Psychedelic Reform as Ballot Vote Looms: An Interview with Nassir Ghaemi

October 10, 2024

Next month, Massachusetts voters will decide whether to endorse Question 4, which would establish a regulated psychedelics program and enact psychedelic drug policy reforms. With polls showing a neck-and-neck race thus far, the outcome is too close to call. In this piece, Psychedelic Alpha editor Josh Hardman speaks with the President of the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, Nassir Ghaemi, to understand why the group is opposing the initiative, as well as his broader views on psychedelics’ potential role in psychiatry.

Psychedelic Funding Update: Q3 2024

October 8, 2024

We review psychedelic company financing activity in Q3 2024, which marked a significant slow-down in investment from both Q1 and Q2. Despite this downturn, two private companies, Sunstone Therapies and Soneira Bio raised during the quarter, along with a half-dozen public companies that completed modest private placements. Here, we present updated financing charts and brief analysis.

Subscribe to Pα+

Pα+ subscribers receive regular Bulletins, articles, interviews with insiders and quick-take analysis of major stories and developments (e.g., significant trial results, financing rounds, policy reforms, etc.); along with access to our back catalogue and Library.

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 syndicates and VCs through to institutions.

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.

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. ∎