Johnson & Johnson to Lead Delix’s $85 Million Round for Nonhallucinogenic Psychedelic Drugs
Updated
Updated · themicrodose.substack.com · Aug 21
Johnson & Johnson to Lead Delix’s $85 Million Round for Nonhallucinogenic Psychedelic Drugs
1 articles · Updated · themicrodose.substack.com · Aug 21
Summary
Psychedelic Alpha reported that Johnson & Johnson is expected to lead Delix Therapeutics’ $85 million Series C, though the financing has not yet closed.
Delix is developing “neuroplastogens” — psychedelic-like compounds engineered to avoid hallucinations — with its lead candidate DLX-001 aimed at major depressive disorder.
October 2025 Phase 1B results for DLX-001 showed roughly a 50% reduction in depression symptoms after one week, with no serious adverse events or reports of hallucinations or dissociation.
The deal terms reportedly include a right of first negotiation for Johnson & Johnson after Phase 2 data, which Delix has FDA clearance to pursue in an at-home trial design.
The move adds to a broader pharma push into psychedelics after Eli Lilly, Otsuka and AbbVie all struck related deals over the past year.
If scientists engineer the trip out of psychedelics, will these new drugs still cure depression, or just become another ineffective daily pill?
While psychedelic therapy boasts high success rates, what happens to the rare patients who leave clinics with new suicidal thoughts months later?
If psychedelics simply amplify your surroundings rather than causing random hallucinations, could the wrong clinic room actually make your trauma worse?