Pharma

Francis Scialabba

Big Pharma companies are increasingly investing in psychedelic medicines.

Multiple smaller drugmakers have released Phase 3 clinical trial data this year showing their psychedelic medicines significantly improved symptoms of mental health conditions for which current treatments are often not very effective, such as treatment-resistant depression.

The federal government has also shown increased support for psychedelic medicines, with President Trump signing an executive order in April to accelerate research and development.

In July, Eli Lilly, the largest pharma company in the world by market capitalization, announced plans to spend $2.8 billion to acquire AtaiBeckley, a mental health biotech that’s developing a psychedelic drug for treatment-resistant depression and alcohol use disorder. The acquisition was finalized on Sept. 11.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s US subsidiary in June also finalized its $700 million acquisition of Transcend Therapeutics, a biotech developing a psychedelic called TSND-201 for PTSD. And last year, AbbVie, another one of the largest pharma companies in the world, acquired a psychedelic compound for major depressive disorder called bBretisilocin from Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals for up to $1.2 billion.

The latest deal from Lilly “continues to support the notion that Big Pharma may be accepting, or more willing to accept, the potential benefit of a psychedelic that maybe once was quite stigmatized,” Andrew Tsai, a managing director at investment banking firm Jefferies, told Healthcare Brew.

Keep reading about psychedelics R&D here.—MA

      

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Tech

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Want bloodwork? There’s an app for that.

Later this year, Apple users in some US states will be able to buy and schedule a blood draw and biometric readings from laboratory testing company Quest Diagnostics on the Health app, Apple announced at an event earlier this month.

Quest will offer a panel that tests for 50+ biomarkers for $119, the companies shared in separate press releases. Users were already able to store lab test results in the Health app, but it didn’t previously have in-app lab purchasing or scheduling.Quest has also partnered with wearable fitness-tracking brand Whoop since Sept. 30, 2025, to allow users to schedule labs on Whoop’s app.

These are just two examples of a growing number of collaborations between tech and medical companies.

Partnerships like these can help tech companies engage users, Hal Wolf, president and CEO of nonprofit membership organization the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, told us. Technology can help healthcare organizations reach more patients despite a shrinking healthcare workforce, Wolf added. The World Health Organization projects a shortage of 11 million healthcare workers by 2030, largely in low- and middle-income countries.

Keep reading here.—CC

      

Hospitals

Francis Scialabba

Comprehensive cancer centers are facing shortages of critical treatments.

Thirty-one cancer centers surveyed by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) in August said they were experiencing a shortage of at least one cancer medication, and about 23% reported shortages of five or more medicines. The NCCN, a nonprofit group that represents 34 comprehensive cancer centers nationwide, published the results on Sept. 10.

The economics of manufacturing generic medicines are a major contributor for drug shortages, William Padula, a senior scholar at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy and Government Service, told Healthcare Brew.

“When a generic manufacturer enters the market, they start competing on lowering the price as much as possible,” Padula said. “As competition increases, some exit the market—because the profitability of these generics just becomes very low—and when they exit the market, then you have an immediate shortage.”

Get the rest of the story here.—MA

      

vital signs

Francis Scialabba

Today’s top healthcare reads.

Stat: $27.6 billion. That’s how much state governments are projected to save under a new Medicaid drug pricing arrangement, President Trump said. Critics are skeptical. (Axios)

Quote: “There’s an entire universe of companies collecting huge amounts of consumer health data every day that aren’t covered by our current health sector-specific laws.”—Andrew Crawford, senior counsel for privacy and data at the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology, on telehealth companies exposing users’ medical data (Associated Press)

Read: Florida has reported its first dengue-related death of 2026 amid a rise in cases. (ABC)

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• Behavioral Health Medical Director at Humana
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