The Good News from Gilgamesh Continues!

It was with sincere pleasure that we announced a historic event last week in the epic story of Gilgamesh Pharma, and indeed for the psychedelic mental health ecosystem as a whole.

True to its namesake, the team at Gilgamesh has accomplished a series of astounding achievements culminating in the recently announced acquisition of their lead program - the novel psychedelic Bretisilocin - for US$1.2B by big pharma and recognized CNS leader AbbVie.

While there has been promising market validation in the psychedelic sector before - for instance, Otsuka’s $58 million acquisition of MindSet (the blockbuster big pharma M&A) - the hallmark of success in biotech remained elusive... until now.

AbbVie’s billion-dollar commitment is the formal recognition by the best of big pharma, and by extension the medical establishment, of the potential for psychedelic medicine as a bona fide treatment for mental health. Moreover, it is the recognition of a new paradigm in medical treatment, first validated by Spravato and its more than $1 billion in sales. And it’s only the beginning. So let’s take a closer look…

Significant upfront payout, plus…

• While AbbVie acquired the lead program, a critical component of the deal is the spinout into a “new” Gilgamesh entity (rumor has it with “Gilgamesh” in the name) of the remainder of assets under development and a cash portion of the deal as operating capital. This means that the Gilgamesh team has at least four more shots on goal, including the previous $2B milestone deal with AbbVie for its neuroplastogen program. Existing shareholders, including JLS Fund I LPs, retain ownership in the new entity and can expect a distribution in relation to the significant upfront cash portion of the $1.2B deal.

New Gilgamesh Spinout: We are as excited for the future of the rest of Gilgamesh’s pipeline as we are for the sale of Bretisilocin to AbbVie. Gilgamesh is no one-trick pony. The rest of its pipeline represents the same best-in-class innovative drug development for massive underserved mental health markets. And each category has the potential for its own blockbuster-level takeout.

• Blixeprodil (GM-1020): NMDAR Antagonist and Spravato-Killer
  
  
  • Despite a slow start and suboptimal properties, Spravato achieved blockbuster status with over US$1B in revenue in 2024. Like Spravato, Blixeprodil is a rapid-acting antidepressant but is also everything Spravato wished it was: orally bioavailable, clean long-lasting IP, and low dissociation, making it potentially suitable for at-home use. Bixeprodil may command an even bigger price tag than Bretisilocin due to its plug-and-play interoperability with the Spravato ecosystem  and potential for take-home use. This one is right behind Bretisilocin in the clinic, Phase II, and poised for a near-term transaction.
    
    
• Non-hallucinogenic Neuroplastogens
  
  
  • Significant near-term milestones, under the previously negotiated US$2B deal  with AbbVie, are still on the horizon and rapidly moving toward the clinic. These compounds, delivering strong clinical efficacy without hallucinations, fit the traditional pharma distribution paradigm and may demand the highest acquisition prices. The $2B deal may be on the low end: recall the $14B J&J paid for Intracellular, the $8.7B AbbVie paid for Cerevel, and the $14B Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) paid for Karuna.
    
    
• GM-3009: Safer Ibogaine Analog
  
  
  • Substance use, and in general addiction, is a leading killer of our time, and nothing seems to work as well to treat these conditions as the traditional psychedelic, Ibogaine. Unfortunately, it suffers from low clinical viability due to its strong cardiotoxicity and long, strenuous psychedelic trip. Enter the drug development expertise at Gilgamesh. Similar to the enhanced design of psilocybin with Bretisilocin, the Gilgamesh team is removing the cardiotoxicity and improving the drug properties of ibogaine in its GM-3009. This program is nearing the clinic and, should it prove effective, would be one of the largest, most ground-breaking developments in the history of psychiatry.
    
    
• M1/M4 agonist: Schizophrenia
  
  
  • Just announced, Gilgamesh has another trick up its sleeve. Following up on the success of Karuna KarXT (recall the US$14B deal with BMS) and ML-007 by Maplight (which just closed a recent $372.5 million Series D financing), the M1/M4 dual targets for schizophrenia are garnering increasing attention. Gilgamesh again leads the way with a single agent oral molecule with reduced peripheral side effects.

Indeed, the recent $1.2B deal struck with AbbVie is just the beginning for Gilgamesh. And of course, we want to make sure you’re completely up to speed on everything happening with Gilgamesh. So if you’d like to discuss the spin-out or our read on comps and exit paths, reply to this email and we’ll jump on a quick call.