How a Public‑Health Safety Powerhouse Broke Into Psychedelics

Delphi helped a 65‑year‑old drug‑safety group get up to speed and develop their expertise and stakeholder engagement in the psychedelic field. We helped them turn five tentative psychedelic leads into targeted introductions and two signed commercial contracts, positioning them as the go‑to post‑marketing surveillance partner for next‑gen therapies.

Executive Summary

A leading U.S. poison‑control and pharmacovigilance organization (part of a major hospital system) saw psychedelics racing toward commercialization, but lacked the network and language to engage. Delphi served as the bridge: crucially, helping to bring their team and platforms up to speed, developing their expertise and stakeholder engagement in the field, strengthening their platform position for data collection services, brokering relationships for paying customers, and driving business development. Delphi then mapped the landscape, engineered high‑value meetings, and reframed safety monitoring as a revenue‑ready service for drug developers.

The Challenge

Our client faced several critical challenges:

Minimal visibility in the psychedelic ecosystem—only five informal contacts, zero deals
Unfamiliar with the culture, conferences, and regulatory nuances unique to psychedelic medicine
Navigating the uncertainty in a complex emerging industry still awaiting its first FDA drug approval, raising the bar on real‑world safety data and creating both urgency and confusion

The company needed a strategic partner to establish credibility and navigate the complex, evolving psychedelic medicine landscape during a pivotal regulatory moment.

Delphi’s Approach

Delphi employed a comprehensive, relationship-driven approach to address our client’s challenges:

Foundational Development & Business Growth: Crucially, Delphi invested significant effort in bringing the client’s team and platforms up to speed. This involved developing their internal expertise & stakeholder engagement in the field, strengthening their platform position for data collection services, brokering and strengthening relationships for paying customers, and actively driving business development.
Ecosystem Intelligence: Delivered a “psychedelic landscape map” and stakeholder engagement strategy, and brought in relevant experts to educate the team, all tailored to the client’s objectives.
Precision Networking: Curated C‑suite introductions to strengthen the relationships with their optimal customer base. Guided the client through the two biggest psychedelic conferences in the US.
Rapid‑fire Collateral: Built an investor‑ready safety‑monitoring slide deck in three weeks (30+ design hours) to anchor funding pitches.
Strategic Positioning Post‑Lykos: Reframed the FDA setback as a call for rigorous real‑world surveillance, placing our client center‑stage in the implementation roadmap.

This approach allowed Delphi to transform our client from an industry outsider to a strategic insider with targeted connections, compelling materials, and a value proposition that directly addressed the sector’s most pressing regulatory challenge.

Results and Impact

Delphi’s engagement with our client yielded several significant outcomes:

Enhanced Market Position: Enabled positive visibility within the specialty field, helping to ensure first-mover advantage and longitudinal success in a growing industry.
Strengthened Domain Expertise: Bolstered the client’s domain expertise, enhancing their ability to develop products with strong market fit.
Industry Leadership Trajectory: Positioned the client to move into a leadership role within the psychedelic industry.
Timeline Compression: Market-entry timeline reduced from 18 to <6 months

“Delphi’s network is second to none. They didn’t just open doors—they made sure the right people were waiting on the other side.”
— Program Director, Client (anonymous)

Where They Are Now

Still partnered with Delphi, the organization is working with psychedelic drug developers and integrating their existing and novel tools to enhance the safe implementation of psychedelics as medicines.

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