Shares of psychedelic drug developers surged following President Trump’s executive order directing health regulators to speed up reviews of psychedelic treatments and increase federal funding for research. The order was issued on Saturday and directly addresses FDA review timelines and federal research support.
Stock gains on the trading day included AtaiBeckley jumping 28%, Compass Pathways climbing 37%, Enveric BioSciences surging 140%, and GH Research rising 24%. Definium Therapeutics gained 4%, while Cybin’s U.S.-listed shares were up about 5%.
The executive order requires the FDA to fast-track reviews of psychedelic compounds such as ibogaine, which is being studied for mental health conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and addiction. The order directs the agency to award Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers to psychedelic drugs designated with “breakthrough therapy” status, potentially reducing review time to one to two months from the usual six to 10 months. Trump announced the government would allocate $50 million for federal research into ibogaine.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary stated that decisions on the drugs could come as soon as summer. Industry analysts called the development significant; Oppenheimer analysts termed it “a structural inflection for the U.S. psychedelics sector,” while Jefferies analyst Andrew Tsai called it the administration’s “official stamp of validation to the class.” According to RBC analyst Brian Abrahams, the executive order represents “a substantial step towards diminishing regulatory risk in this emerging class of therapies, enabling investor comfort.”
Ibogaine is derived from an African shrub and is classified as a Schedule I substance in the U.S., meaning it is currently considered to have no accepted medical use. Tom Feegel, CEO of Beond, an ibogaine-focused treatment provider, described the administration’s move as marking “a historic inflection point” that places psychedelics on the national agenda rather than remaining a fringe concept.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2026/04/20/trump-fda-psychedelic-drugs/89702452007/