The quest by psychedelic drugs for full legitimacy in the pharmaceutical world has seen marked progress as well as (fewer) setbacks of late, and developers are hopeful that an important corner has been turned.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is taking a neuroplastogen approach to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through its planned $1.22 billion acquisition of Transcend Therapeutics Inc. The deal gives Tokyo-headquartered Otsuka access to Transcend’s lead asset, TSND-201, an oral neuroplastogen that has begun patient recruitment for a phase III study in the U.S.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. is taking a neuroplastogen approach to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through its planned $1.22 billion acquisition of Transcend Therapeutics Inc. The deal gives Tokyo-headquartered Otsuka access to Transcend’s lead asset, TSND-201, an oral neuroplastogen that has begun patient recruitment for a phase III study in the U.S.

Transcend Therapeutics Inc. has closed on a series A funding of $40 million for its next-generation compound, methylone, an MDMA analogue, to be developed as a rapid-acting, disease-modifying, non-hallucinogenic treatment for neuropsychiatric conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder.