Tracking the Fortunes of Corporate Psychedelia

Tracking the Fortunes of Corporate Psychedelia
Hager, Sandy Brian. (2024). City Political Economy Research Centre Working Paper Series (CITYPERC). No. 02. September. pp. 1-22. (Article - Working Paper; English).

Full Text Available As:

Preview	Cover Image 20240900_hager_tracking_the_fortunes_of_corporate_psychedelia_front.JPG Download (240kB) | Preview
Preview	PDF (Full text) 20240900_hager_tracking_the_fortunes_of_corporate_psychedelia.pdf Download (510kB) | Preview

Alternative Locations

https://researchcentres.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/829728/CITYPERC-WPS-2024-02-Hager.pdf

Abstract or Brief Description

In recent years, new biotech companies have emerged hoping to cash in on a medical psychedelics market expected to be worth billions. This article examines the business models of two of the largest such companies. According to conventional wisdom, for-profit players are best positioned to deliver new cures for mental illness at scale because of their ability to tap capital markets. The analysis presented here challenges this story on two counts. First, it argues that profitability in the pharmaceutical business depends not on rapid scaling per se, but on controlling and restricting access to maintain pricing power. Second, it claims that the unruliness of sychedelics – manifested in the presence of cheap generics, murky intellectual property claims, and high costs of administration – raises serious questions about their commercial viability. The article then assesses the sector’s embrace of Johnson and Johnson’s patented form of esketamine, Spravato, as its prototype for commercialization. Spravato may provide a pathway for profitability, but patients must contend with high prices and a drug that provides only short-term relief and requires indefinite dosing. Rather than disrupt Big Pharma, corporate psychedelia replicates its main features, raising questions about its claims to tackle the mental health crisis.

Language

English

Publication Type

Article - Working Paper

Keywords

psychedelics pharmaceutical medicalization mental health crisis business models

Subject

BN Power
BN Psychology
BN Science & Technology
BN Value & Price
BN Business Enterprise
BN Capital & Accumulation
BN Conflict & Violence
BN Distribution
BN Industrial Organization

Depositing User

Jonathan Nitzan

Date Deposited

09 Oct 2024 15:16

Last Modified

09 Oct 2024 23:44

URL:

https://bnarchives.net/id/eprint/840

Actions (login required)

View Item