Eli Lilly's Carole Ho Says 5-MeO-DMT "Fits the Spravato Model" as Investors Call Pharma "Cash Rich and Pipeline Poor"
Psychedelic Alpha's own writeup of the Psychedelic Healthcare Forum it co-hosted in New York this month — the same event behind our coverage of its federal-policy panel — turns to the money side. One session, "A Conversation with Carole Ho," is framed under the subheading "5-MeO-DMT Fits the Spravato Model" — Eli Lilly's head of neuroscience R&D drawing a direct comparison to ketamine's existing FDA-approved depression franchise, though the outlet's own reporting on what she said beyond that framing sits behind its paid tier.
The fuller, publicly readable section covers an investor panel, "Courting Capital for Psychedelic Medicine," moderated by Bloomberg's Madison Muller. Ritu Baral of TD Cowen said clinical trial risk has eased and FDA guidance has gotten clearer, with efficacy concerns being "knocked down one by one" — but reimbursement and operational questions remain. She called pharma "cash rich and pipeline poor," flagging PTSD and depressive disorders as the biggest opportunities. Connor Williams of RTW Investments, which backs Compass Pathways, said the field has produced "20 SSRIs, 40 dopaminergic antipsychotics, and just two or three pharma acquisitions of psychedelics" so far. Palo Santo's Edny Inui said patent concerns have largely faded and that first movers with novel formulations attract large-pharma interest — pointing to Johnson & Johnson's role driving Spravato adoption, and naming Bristol Myers Squibb as a possible acquirer next.
Some additional coverage worth flagging, on the supply side of the same industry: ibogaine's raw material. Journalist and ethnobotanist Molly Helfend's investigation for Mongabay — reported from Libreville in July, published Aug 26, 2026, and republished in adapted form by DoubleBlind on Oct 30 — covers Gabon's Decree No. 0239/PR/MJSRCAVA, which sets up a national framework governing access to iboga, its derivatives, and the traditional knowledge around it. As of 2025 reporting, only one company held a Gabonese export license; Helfend's reporting asks whether that arrangement is actually delivering benefits back to the communities it draws from as the global ibogaine boom — the same boom driving the political and pharma-investor interest covered above — accelerates demand for the plant.