atai Life Sciences Receives $11.4 Million NIH Grant to Fund Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Development

atai Life Sciences has been awarded a multi-year, milestone-driven grant worth up to $11.4 million by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to fund the optimization and early-stage development of its novel 5-HT2A/2C receptor agonists for opioid use disorder. The grant supports atai's AI-driven polypharmacology drug discovery approach and accelerates the timetable to bring non-hallucinogenic treatments to patients suffering from addiction.

atai Life Sciences (NASDAQ: ATAI) has been awarded a multi-year, milestone-driven grant worth up to $11.4 million by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to fund the optimization and early-stage development of its novel 5-HT2A/2C receptor agonists for opioid use disorder (OUD). The grant supports atai's AI-driven polypharmacology drug discovery approach and accelerates the timetable to bring non-hallucinogenic treatments to patients suffering from addiction.

The UG3/UH3 grant structure is particularly noteworthy as it is a competitive, milestone-based funding mechanism reserved for promising translational research. The funding will support critical development stages including lead optimization, proof-of-concept studies, and the necessary toxicology and manufacturing work to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application – effectively de-risking early development without equity dilution.

This program targets a significant unmet need, as OUD affects approximately 16 million people globally with annual costs exceeding $750 billion. Current OUD treatments often require daily administration, creating a significant treatment burden. atai's approach aims to develop compounds that modulate serotonin receptors implicated in addiction while specifically avoiding 5-HT2B activity, which has been linked to cardiac valvulopathy – an important safety consideration.

The grant not only provides capital but positions atai as an emerging leader in the non-hallucinogenic 5-HT2A agonist space, an area gaining significant attention for neuropsychiatric applications. While this program remains pre-clinical, the federal backing represents meaningful validation of atai's scientific approach and accelerates their timeline toward first-in-human trials.

5-year UG3/UH3 grant will fund the optimization and early-stage development of atai’s novel 5-HT2A/2C receptor agonists with non-hallucinogenic potential for opioid use disorder atai Life Sciences Awarded Grant from the National Institutes of Health^[2].