atai Life Sciences CEO discusses success of BPL-003 alcohol use disorder trial - ICYMI

Core Insights - atai Life Sciences is optimistic about the promising results from Beckley Psytech's Phase 2a trial for BPL-003 in treating alcohol use disorder, where 50% of patients remained abstinent for three months after a single administration combined with cognitive behavioral therapy [1][5][6] Group 1: Alcohol Use Disorder - Alcohol use disorder affects approximately 400 million people globally and is associated with 3 million deaths annually, highlighting a significant unmet medical need [4] - The Phase 2a trial involved 12 patients and showed that heavy drinking days decreased from 56% to 13%, while abstinent days increased from 33% to 81%, indicating clinically meaningful results [5] Group 2: Future Studies - atai Life Sciences is looking forward to results from a larger Phase 2b study evaluating a single-dose administration of BPL-003 for treatment-resistant depression, which is currently ongoing [2][6] - The upcoming Phase 2b trial will be the largest placebo-controlled study of 5-MeO-DMT, with a focus on the effectiveness of a single administration compared to esketamine's multiple doses [8][10] Group 3: Treatment Model - BPL-003 is a 5-MeO-DMT benzoate administered intranasally, similar to esketamine, but aims to reduce the frequency of dosing required for effective treatment [6][9] - The short-duration psychedelics approach could enhance treatment accessibility by reducing the burden on patients and allowing providers to treat more individuals [11]