Promising Henlus data tripped up by psychedelic trial design dilemma

Helus Pharma’s Phase II generalized anxiety disorder readout underscores a key challenge in psychedelic drug development: how to design an active control that preserves blinding without obscuring the efficacy signal.

The ambiguity in the company’s data, announced Thursday, appeared to rattle investors, sending its shares down about 34%, even as it reported symptom improvement out to six months, bringing its market cap to under $300 million...