July 16 (Reuters) - AtaiBeckley shares soared 50% premarket on Thursday after a report that Eli Lilly was in talks to acquire the psychedelic drug developer as soon as this week.
Bloomberg News, late on Wednesday, said Lilly was negotiating a deal at a premium, citing people familiar with the matter.
New York-based AtaiBeckley's shares have gained 31% so far this year to give it a market value of $1.97 billion as of Wednesday's close, according to LSEG data.
U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order
in April to help speed up access to treatment based on psychedelic drugs had sparked an industrywide rally.
"While the deal could reach more than $2 billion, ongoing talks with additional pharmaceutical companies could support a higher takeout price," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman.
Lilly shares were flat before the bell.
Eli Lilly and AtaiBeckley were not immediately available for comment outside regular business hours.
Shares of other psychedelic drug developers also rose premarket on Thursday. Compass Pathways gained 7%, GH Research jumped 15%, Definium Therapeutics climbed 6% and Enveric Biosciences rose 3%.
AtaiBeckley focuses on psychedelic-based treatments for mental health conditions and is developing BPL-003, an intranasal formulation of 5-MeO-DMT for treatment-resistant depression.
Trump's order is expected to shorten administrative timelines while attracting more capital to the industry, analysts and health experts have said.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams said the psychedelic sector is likely to continue its rally and is poised to emerge into the mainstream.
Lilly has been on an acquisition spree, especially in the neuroscience space, highlighted by the $7.8 billion buyout of sleep-disorder drugmaker Centessa Pharmaceuticals.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
