💸 The Tape

In the span of a few weeks, three psychedelic therapeutics companies have collectively raised nearly $1 billion in fresh capital. That's not a typo. And it's not a coincidence.

Definium Therapeutics closed a $700 million underwritten offering. Compass Pathways completed a $150 million public offering plus $200 million in warrant exercises. And Helus Pharma (formerly Cybin) just closed a $50 million underwritten deal. Combined, that's approximately $1.1 billion flowing into psychedelic drug development in a single quarter — the largest concentration of capital the sector has ever attracted.

What unites these three raises isn't just timing. It's that each company is funding a specific, identifiable catalyst: Phase 3 data that will either validate or invalidate the entire psychedelic therapeutics thesis within the next twelve months.

Definium Therapeutics: $700 Million to Commercialize a Breakthrough

Definium's raise is the largest and the most aggressive — because it has the most to work with.

The company's Emerge Phase 3 trial for DT120 (lysergide) ODT in major depressive disorder delivered results that stunned even optimistic observers: an 8.1-point placebo-adjusted MADRS improvement from a single dose, with effects persisting through 12 weeks. The 35% response rate and 24% remission rate at Week 6 — from one administration — represent the strongest clinical evidence any psychedelic compound has produced in a registration-quality trial.

The $700 million raise, led by J.P. Morgan, Jefferies, Leerink Partners, and BofA Securities, is explicitly earmarked for continued R&D, preparation for potential commercialization, and general corporate purposes. With the April 2026 Trump Executive Order prioritizing accelerated FDA review of psychedelic therapies and Breakthrough Therapy pathways, Definium is positioning to move from Phase 3 data to NDA submission with a war chest that eliminates capital as a constraint.

The strategic calculus is clear: Emerge delivered the data. Now Definium needs to fund a second confirmatory Phase 3 study (FDA typically requires two adequate and well-controlled trials), build commercial infrastructure, prepare manufacturing scale-up, and engage with payers — all of which require exactly the kind of capital this raise provides. The bookrunner lineup — four bulge-bracket banks — signals institutional conviction that DT120 has a legitimate path to market.

Compass Pathways: $350+ Million to Cross the Finish Line

Compass is arguably the closest to an FDA filing of any psychedelic company — and its capital raises reflect a company that knows it's in the final stretch.

The company completed a $150 million public offering in February 2026, followed by $200 million in warrant exercises later that month. Combined with existing cash, Compass ended Q1 with $466 million — a runway extending into 2028 that covers everything needed to reach a potential approval.

The capital is funding three parallel programs. First, the ongoing COMP005 and COMP006 Phase 3 trials evaluating COMP360 (synthetic psilocybin) in treatment-resistant depression. Both trials have met their primary endpoints — COMP005 showed a 25% response rate from a single dose, while COMP006 demonstrated a highly statistically significant -3.8 point MADRS difference (p<0.001) with a 39% response rate from two doses administered three weeks apart.

Second, a Phase 2b/3 trial (COMP202) of COMP360 in PTSD — an indication expansion that could dramatically increase the commercial addressable market. The FDA accepted the IND application in January 2026.

Third, and perhaps most critically, the acceleration of commercial readiness activities. Compass secured FDA agreement for a rolling NDA submission and received a Commissioner's National Priority Voucher — designations that could concentrate the review period and accelerate the path to approval. The company is targeting NDA submission in Q4 2026 with launch readiness by year-end.

Part B 26-week durability data from COMP006 are expected in early Q3 2026 — the last major data readout before the filing. If the durability profile holds, Compass will have a complete data package supporting a filing for what could become the first FDA-approved psilocybin therapy in the United States.

Helus Pharma: $50 Million for the Final Push

Helus Pharma — the company formerly known as Cybin that rebranded and migrated to Nasdaq earlier this year — closed its $50 million underwritten offering today, led by Cantor and Barclays as joint bookrunners.

The proceeds are laser-focused on three programs: HLP003 in Phase 3 for major depressive disorder, HLP004 in Phase 2 for generalized anxiety disorder, and the earlier-stage HLP005 program. But the primary driver is HLP003 and the APPROACH Phase 3 trial, which has surpassed 86% enrollment and is on track for topline data in Q4 2026.

HLP003 is a proprietary novel serotonergic agonist (NSA) — not a classic psychedelic but a compound designed to deliver the neuroplastogenic benefits of serotonergic stimulation without the full hallucinogenic experience. The molecule has FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the adjunctive treatment of MDD, and Phase 2 data showed a 23-point MADRS reduction from baseline at 12 months after just two doses administered three weeks apart.

The APPROACH study is part of Helus's broader PARADIGM Phase 3 program, which also includes the EMBRACE study and the EXTEND long-term extension study. With the $50 million raise, Helus has the capital to reach its Q4 data readout — the binary event that will determine whether the company's entire platform has clinical validation.

Why This Capital Is Strategic

What makes these three raises collectively significant isn't just the dollar amounts — it's the timing relative to each company's clinical trajectory.

All three are raising capital ahead of definitive Phase 3 data readouts or FDA filings — the moments when valuations are either validated or destroyed. By raising now, each company ensures that capital constraints cannot derail programs that are months away from their most important milestones.

Definium raised after delivering exceptional Phase 3 data, capitalizing on the market's enthusiasm to fund commercialization preparation at favorable terms. Compass raised during its Phase 3 program, ensuring it has runway through filing and potential launch without needing to return to the market at a critical juncture. Helus raised before its Phase 3 readout, securing the capital to reach the data event regardless of market conditions between now and Q4.

The federal policy backdrop amplifies the strategic logic. The Trump Executive Order prioritizing psychedelic therapy review, the DEA's stated willingness to reschedule compounds upon Phase 3 completion, and the growing Right to Try framework all create a regulatory environment more favorable to novel psychiatric treatments than any in history. Companies that are funded to take advantage of that environment — rather than scrambling to raise capital while navigating it — hold a decisive advantage.

The Bigger Picture

A billion dollars flowing into psychedelic drug development in a single quarter would have been unthinkable two years ago. The fact that it's happening now — led by J.P. Morgan, Barclays, Jefferies, and other institutional-caliber banks — tells you that the market has moved past the question of whether psychedelic therapeutics are real. The question now is which compounds reach patients first, and which companies have the capital to get there.

Definium, Compass, and Helus all have Phase 3 data readouts within the next six months. By the end of 2026, the psychedelic therapeutics landscape will look fundamentally different than it does today. These raises ensure that all three companies will be funded to find out.

📈 Dog Walkers

$TSNDF ( ▲ 5.64% ) Closes Financing

TerrAscend just cleaned up its balance sheet and loaded the gun for M&A — in one transaction.

The company closed a $21.7 million convertible debenture financing, using $11.1 million to retire existing higher-rate senior unsecured convertible debt and reserving the remainder for acquisitions. The new debentures mature in September 2031 at 8.00% annual interest — extending maturities and reducing blended borrowing costs in a single move.

The debentures convert into common shares at US$0.87, representing a 25% premium to the 20-day VWAP, and are secured by a second lien on the U.S. business. Director Edward Schutter participated with a $1 million personal investment — insider conviction that speaks louder than any press release.

Executive Chairman Jason Wild was explicit about the intent: "We intend to put this capital to work through accretive acquisitions to grow our retail footprint in the high-growth markets where we already have scale and operational infrastructure."

For a company that has delivered 15 consecutive quarters of positive operating cash flow and 11 straight quarters of positive free cash flow, the financing isn't about survival — it's about offense. TerrAscend is debt-lighter, longer-dated, and sitting on dry powder specifically earmarked for growth.

Wild has said he wants to buy. Now he has the capital to do it.

$MRMD ( ▲ 4.75% ) Registers With DEA

MariMed is filing its federal paperwork — and the brevity of the announcement says something about how routine this process is becoming.

The multi-state cannabis operator announced it has submitted DEA registration applications for certain state-licensed medical cannabis operations, joining the growing list of MSOs formalizing their status under the Schedule III framework established by the Trump administration's rescheduling order in April.

CEO Jon Levine framed it as "an important step forward for MariMed as we move the Company toward becoming a federally legal business" — a sentence that would have been unimaginable from any cannabis executive twelve months ago.

For MariMed specifically, DEA registration unlocks 280E tax relief on qualifying medical operations — a meaningful improvement to after-tax profitability for a company that reported $39.5 million in Q1 2026 revenue with a 44% year-over-year increase in adjusted EBITDA. The company operates in Massachusetts, Illinois, Missouri, and Maryland, with both medical and adult-use licenses across its footprint.

What's notable isn't that MariMed filed — it's that DEA registration announcements are now arriving with the regularity of quarterly earnings reports. Trulieve, Jushi, TerrAscend, and dozens of other operators have already submitted applications. The federal cannabis compliance infrastructure is being built one filing at a time, and MariMed just added its name to the registry.

🗞️ The News

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Industry Sentiment vs Reality + Could The Hemp Ban Be Extended? | TTB Presented by Flowhub

• Sentiment vs. Reality: FundCanna CEO Adam Stettner returns from the Chicago conference with a challenging question for operators — while long-term optimism is clearly building, what does positive sentiment actually mean for your business today? Short-term discipline remains essential despite the improving outlook.

• Operator Discipline: Stettner shares feedback from the conference floor, where enthusiasm around rescheduling, uplisting, and institutional capital was high — but the companies best positioned to benefit are those maintaining financial discipline rather than spending ahead of catalysts that haven't fully materialized.

• Hemp Ban in Question: Jim Higdon of Cornbread Hemp breaks down reports that the Trump administration has reached out to Congress regarding the proposed hemp THC ban scheduled for November 12 — raising the possibility that the policy could be delayed, softened, or materially changed.

• Billions at Stake: A potential delay or modification of the hemp ban would have massive implications for the estimated $67 billion national hemp industry, the operators who have built businesses under the 2018 Farm Bill framework, and the regulated cannabis companies that have been counting on the ban to redirect consumer spending into licensed channels.