Here's a twist in the ongoing saga of who owns what in the psychedelic drug development space. Enveric Biosciences Inc. (ENVB) announced Wednesday that Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals Inc. has officially withdrawn its challenge to one of Enveric's key patents. Just like that, a potential legal skirmish over intellectual property has been called off.
The specific patent in question is U.S. Patent No. 12,138,276, with the wonderfully scientific title "Halogenated psilocybin derivatives and methods of using." Gilgamesh had filed a Post-Grant Review (PGR) petition against it back in August 2025. But now, after Enveric pushed back with a formal request for the petition to be denied, Gilgamesh has pulled the challenge. The result? There are no active challenges pending against this Enveric patent.
So, why did Gilgamesh back down? The timeline here is pretty interesting. Shortly after Gilgamesh filed the petition, AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) swooped in and agreed to acquire a specific drug candidate from Gilgamesh—a molecule called bretisilocin (also known as GM-2505)—in a deal that could be worth up to $1.2 billion. It turns out that Enveric's '276 patent includes claims that appear relevant to that very same bretisilocin molecule, which is currently in clinical trials.
Fast forward to October 2025: Enveric hired the law firm Fish and Richardson P.C. to fight the PGR petition, and the firm filed a Request for Discretionary Denial on Enveric's behalf. Then, in November 2025, counsel for AbbVie (which, remember, was now set to acquire the asset from Gilgamesh) filed a request with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office asking to withdraw the petition that Gilgamesh had filed.
It seems the corporate reshuffling made the legal fight less relevant, or perhaps less desirable, for the new stakeholders.
Enveric's CEO, Joseph Tucker, was clearly pleased with the outcome. "Enveric is gratified by this turn of events, which we believe demonstrates our willingness to fully defend the intellectual property that protects our valuable discoveries," Tucker said. He added, "The withdrawal of the petition resolves the proceeding and leaves our issued patent unchallenged. We believe it reflects both the strength of our intellectual property and our willingness to defend it when necessary."
In other news from the company, Enveric recently shared new data on its lead candidate, EB-003. The findings show the drug activates both Gq- and β-arrestin–mediated signaling pathways downstream of the 5-HT₂A receptor, a key target in the brain for psychedelic-based therapies.
As for the market's immediate reaction, shares of ENVB were down 1.45% at $2.17 in premarket trading Wednesday.
