New York, June 16, 2026, 17:08 EDT
- AtaiBeckley jumped 7.8% to $4.14 Tuesday. The stock didn’t move after hours as of just after 5 p.m. New York time.
- CEO Srinivas Rao said at an H.C. Wainwright event on Monday the company started its BPL-003 Phase 3 program.
- VLS-01 Phase 2 data and BPL-003 Phase 2a Part 4 data are up next, with both expected in the fourth quarter.
AtaiBeckley Inc. jumped 7.8% to $4.14 on Tuesday. Chief Executive Srinivas Rao said the company’s lead depression drug, BPL-003, advanced into Phase 3 trials. ATAI shares on Nasdaq moved between $3.83 and $4.34. Volume was close to 10 million shares.
This is important as the company has moved from the planning stage to executing on its core asset. Phase 3 is the late-stage human trial, often the final hurdle for approval if the results hold up.
AtaiBeckley now has three late-stage psychedelic compounds, with BPL-003 taking the lead, Rao told the H.C. Wainwright 7th Annual Neuro Perspectives Hybrid Conference on June 15. “We just actually initiated our phase III program,” he said, per a transcript. StockAnalysis
The company flagged the topic earlier. Its June 3 SEC filing said management would talk about program updates at investor meetings in June, mentioning the start of the BPL-003 Phase 3 pivotal ReConnection study. AtaiBeckley was also set to speak June 15 at the H.C. Wainwright neuro conference and show up at UBS Virtual CNS Day.
BPL-003, a mebufotenin benzoate nasal spray, is being tested in treatment-resistant depression. The program has two studies: ReConnection-1 with around 350 patients and ReConnection-2 with about 230. Both use MADRS to gauge depression changes at week four, based on clinician ratings.
AtaiBeckley held $209.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term securities at March 31, with the company saying that’s enough to fund operations into 2029. First-quarter net loss widened to $29.8 million from $26.4 million last year on higher R&D costs. Rao said the cash is expected to last “through our anticipated Phase 3 topline readouts.”
AtaiBeckley said in March that BPL-003 has FDA breakthrough therapy status. That’s based on earlier Phase 2b data showing effects by day two and lasting up to eight weeks. Breakthrough therapy doesn’t mean the drug is approved. The designation is an FDA program for speeding up development and review if early signs point to a drug potentially improving on what’s available for serious disease. Nasdaq
Rivals are moving. Compass Pathways said in February its COMP360 psilocybin drug hit the main goal in a second Phase 3 trial for treatment-resistant depression. In March, GH Research reported its Phase 2b data for inhaled mebufotenin GH001 in JAMA Psychiatry. As for AtaiBeckley, the company is leaning on clinic time as part of its pitch—Rao said Monday BPL-003’s psychedelic effects usually wear off in 90 minutes, or, as he put it, within two hours. Compass Pathways GH Research
There’s clear risk here. Phase 3 trials can run late, miss endpoints, throw up safety issues or fall short on regulator demands for durability, blinding, or monitoring. In its SEC-filed release, AtaiBeckley flagged that all comments on trial timing, regulatory decisions and cash runway are forward-looking and not a guarantee.
For now, traders are watching the dates again. The company is sticking to its timeline: VLS-01 Elumina Phase 2 topline results and first BPL-003 Phase 2a Part 4 data are both set for the fourth quarter. BPL-003 Phase 3 topline numbers are still expected in early 2029.
