Beckley raises funds 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.