Psilera Inc. & atai Life Sciences Announce Licensing Agreement for DMT Patent Portfolio

atai acquires all rights to Psilera's DMT patents and patent applications expanding its intellectual property portfolio  

Both companies are working to advance next-generation neuroplastogen medicines to treat CNS disorders

TAMPA, Fla. and NEW YORK and BERLIN, Feb. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Psilera, Inc. ("Psilera"), a biotechnology company developing groundbreaking therapies for hard-to-treat neurological disorders and atai Life Sciences ("atai"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to transform the treatment of mental health disorders, today announced a licensing agreement (the "Agreement") under which atai has acquired Psilera's DMT (N,N-dimethyltryptamine) patent portfolio, including all granted and pending patents related to DMT and other related psychedelics.

"We're pleased to collaborate with atai on the DMT patent portfolio given their leadership in psychedelic drug development," said Dr. Chris Witowski, Co-Founder and CEO of Psilera. "This outcome helps us to advance the clinical development of our lead asset PSIL-006 in frontotemporal dementia and our leading next-generation neuroplastogen pipeline."

Dr. Srinivas Rao, Co-Founder and CEO of atai, added, "This agreement strengthens our DMT patent portfolio and enables us to further explore the therapeutic potential of DMT for a range of disorders. It also allows us to potentially expand into several other formulations."

Since its founding in 2019, Psilera has developed and patented several DMT-specific formulations with optimized bioavailability for clinical and outpatient use across a broad range of neurological indications. Under the terms of the Agreement, Psilera will receive an upfront payment, and, assuming certain conditions are met, will be eligible for payments related to future development milestones, as well as royalties on commercial product sales.

Psilera will continue to expand its pipeline of novel neuroplastogens compounds while advancing PSIL-006 to the clinic for first-in-human trials expected in 2026.

About Psilera Inc.
Psilera is a biopharmaceutical company developing groundbreaking therapeutics for hard-to-treat neurodegenerative diseases. By utilizing their proprietary neuroplastogen drug design platform, Psilera has amassed a leading pipeline of next-generation assets including PSIL-006, a first-in-class therapeutic for the treatment of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). With a deep commitment to scientific excellence and patient centricity, Psilera is transforming the lives of individuals affected by devastating neurodegenerative diseases. Welcome to the new era of mindful medicine. For more information visit www.psilera.com.

About atai Life Sciences
atai is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to transform the treatment of mental health disorders. The Company was founded in response to the significant unmet need and lack of innovation in the mental health treatment landscape. atai is dedicated to developing novel, evidence-based therapeutics to treat depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders. atai's vision is to heal mental health disorders so that everyone, everywhere can live a more fulfilled life. For more information, please visit www.atai.life.

Forward-looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). The words "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "initiate," "could," "would," "project," "plan," "potentially," "preliminary," "likely," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements include express or implied statements relating to, among other things: statements regarding our intellectual property, including benefits of the aforementioned licensing agreement for our DMT programs; our business strategy and plans; the potential, success, cost and timing of development of our product candidates, including the progress of preclinical and clinical trials and related milestones; and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, research and development and capital expenditures.

Forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including, without limitation, the important factors described in the section titled "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), as such factors may be updated from time to time in atai's other filings with the SEC. atai disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, other than to the extent required by applicable law.

Contact Information

Psilera
Michael Lauer
[email protected] 

atai Investor Relations
[email protected]  

atai Media Relations
[email protected]

SOURCE Psilera, Inc