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July 27 – August 2, 2026
A Note From the Editor
As July comes to a close, weāre reflecting on just how eventful the first month of the second half of 2026 has been.
It was an opportune time, then, to meet with others from the psychedelics field as well as federal officials at the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrationās (SAMHSA) two-day meeting in Washington, D.C. earlier this week. While we convened under the banner of data-related discussions, it was an interesting moment to be in the nationās capital given the pace at which the psychedelics field is developing. More to come, for our PĪ±+ subscribers.
We expect the remainder of the year to be just as busy, so weāre working on new ways for you to engage with our content, including audio. Stay tuned.
To help you catch your breath in the meantime, on Friday we published a psychedelics-themed crossword. Complete the crossword to find the hidden word. Email it to us and we will enter you into a small prize draw.
Below, you will find your Psychedelic News Feed, a one-stop digest for the latest coverage of psychedelic business, policy, research and beyond.
Josh Hardman
Founder & Editor
July 20 – 26, 2026
A Note From the Editor
This week provided a chance for the field to catch its breath after an incredibly busy start to the third quarter.
It also gave us an opportunity to speak with people across the field about two of the preceding weekās major developments: FDAās final guidance for psychedelic trials and drug development, as well as Eli Lillyās planned purchase of AtaiBeckley.
We featured that coverage in Bulletin 228, which dives deeper into various other topics, including an update on an apparent patent standoff between AtaiBeckley and fellow 5-MeO-DMT developer GH Research and a look at Resilient Pharmaceuticalsā plot to resubmit its MDMA for PTSD new drug application to FDA by the end of the month.
Elsewhere, we issued the Q3 2026 edition of our Psychedelic Drug Development Pipeline Bullseye Charts. I am always so excited to publish these as they appear to be well-received and are always widely shared.
Finally, we published our Q2 psychedelic financing update, which reported the largest quarterly inflows of capital to the field since our records began over 6 years ago.
Below, you will find your Psychedelic News Feed, a one-stop digest for the latest coverage of psychedelic business, policy, research and beyond.
Josh Hardman
Founder & Editor
July 13 – 19, 2026
A Note From the Editor
In last Sundayās News Feed, I shared that I expected this week to be incredibly busy. Indeed, it was!
Recounting all the various developments in this brief note is not possible, but hereās a bullet-point roundup of all that has happened this week:
- FDA issued its final guidance for clinical investigations of psychedelics
- FDA announced a September psychedelics public hearing and an associated request for comments
- HHS and VA entered into an MOU covering research, clinical development, and potential deployment of psychedelics to veterans
- FDA and VA entered into a separate MOU covering information sharing and scientific collaboration
- NIDA awarded funding to Harvard-affiliated researchers for an ibogaine project
- ARPA-H announced a competitive ibogaine for opioid use disorder funding opportunity
- HRSA issued an RFI pertaining to healthcare infrastructure readiness
- Transcend PBC announced a $20 million philanthropic initiative following the sale of Transcend Therapeutics to Otsuka
- Eli Lilly announced that it intends to acquire AtaiBeckley
In response, we published five pieces this week, including a free episode of our Field Notes audio dispatches.
Itās remarkable just how much the psychedelics field has changed over the past few years. On the drug development side of things, visitors to FDAās homepage are now greeted with an āAdvancing Research on Psychedelic Drugsā banner, and the worldās largest pharmaceutical company is set to buy a psychedelics company.
Iām currently in Indiana, before heading to D.C. next week. Shortly thereafter, I will be in New York City. If you are based in either of these cities and would like to meet, please do let me know.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend, and that you get a breather after this very busy week.
Below, you will find your Psychedelic News Feed, a one-stop digest for the latest coverage of psychedelic business, policy, research and beyond.
Josh Hardman
Founder & Editor
Field Notes #3: Washingtonās Busy Week, and the Biggest Psychedelic Buyout Yet
Psychedelic Alpha ā
July 6 – 12, 2026
A Note From the Editor
It’s been a very busy week in the psychedelics field, both in the pursuit of FDA approval and beyond.
On Wednesday, Massachusetts House legislators passed language buried in the state’s $561M economic development bill that would permit up to three licensed mental health clinics to offer ‘naturally occurring’ psilocybin as part of a 5-year pilot program.
While the bill still requires sign-off by the Senate and Governor Maura Healey, advocates view that as a formality rather than a substantial hurdle. The bill does not carve out funding for the pilot, but a prominent advocate and philanthropist in Massachusetts tells me that this is a top priority.
Over in the drug development world, Compass Pathways announced 6-month data from its second, larger Phase 3 trial of COMP360 psilocybin in treatment-resistant depression on Tuesday. The fresh data constitute the latest in a string of positive (though not splashy) readouts from the company, which should be sufficient for approval.
Compass expects to submit its final new drug application (NDA) to FDA in the fourth quarter of the year, with a potential launch in the first half of 2027. Shares in the company traded flat on the week.
Other psychedelic drug developers are also looking to file NDAs in the coming months, as we have reported previously. Those includeĀ Usona Institute, which is also developing a psilocybin candidate, andĀ Resilient Pharmaceuticals, the MDMA developer formerly known asĀ Lykos Therapeutics.
Resilient’s NDA filing is imminent, we understand, though it is unclear whether the company will announce the milestone. It is also unclear how swiftly the agency will review the proposed product, which we have predicted will go by the brand nameĀ Rysanso. While resubmissions can be reviewed more quickly than a new submission, the program does not benefit from a Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher and its 2024 rejection was surrounded by controversy.
Regardless, all this activity continues to underwrite our expectation that we will see multiple FDA approvals of psychedelic products in the next few quarters. With that, much of the work should turn to access; chiefly, establishing and refining payment and care delivery models.
That is why I am thrilled to share thatĀ Psychedelic Alpha is co-hostingĀ The Psychedelic Business ForumĀ at Horizons conference in New York City on October 15th. Explore the agenda and use code PA-FOURTH for a discount on registration before the end of Monday. I do hope you’ll join us.
Next week is going to be very busy from the outset, so I hope you enjoy the remainder of the weekend.
Below, you will find your Psychedelic News Feed, a one-stop digest for the latest coverage of psychedelic business, policy, research and beyond.
Josh Hardman
Founder & Editor
FDA cracks down on illegal ketamine sellers amid nearing āpsychedelic revolutionā - Pharmaceutical Technology
Pharmaceutical Technology ā
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