Diksha Sundriyal
The ‘Reacher’ universe expands with Prime Video’s ‘Neagley,’ as Frances Neagley takes over a deeply personal case. It begins with her childhood friend Tommy walking in front of a moving train while high on drugs. Others find it easier to accept that he had an addiction and his death was a direct consequence of it. However, Neagley thinks there is more to the story, and getting to the bottom of it brings her face-to-face with some very powerful people. She discovers that the drug at the root of every problem is Tranqlara, being developed by a man named Pierce Woodrow. Interestingly, the idea of this unique and dangerous drug doesn’t seem too far-fetched. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Tranqlara and Pierce Woodrow are Fictional Plot Point That May Have Roots in Reality
Neagley’s investigation leads her to the discovery of a drug named Tranqlara, which is being developed by a man named Pierce Woodrow. Both the drug and its creator are fictional additions to the crime thriller series. Woodrow claims that he has found a way to use psychedelic drugs in such a way that they can treat a person’s deeply set trauma within half an hour. Or at least, this is what he sells to his investors. In truth, his research has not been as successful as he would have liked. He has resorted to human experiments, which have led to the tragic deaths of many innocent people, including Tommy. Woodrow wishes to make the drug functional, claiming that he wants to help the world. But he doesn’t seem to care how many people die in the process.
In real life, recreational drugs and psychedelics have been used by researchers trying to create new and efficient meds. However, these experiments haven’t entirely been successful. In 2024, Science magazine reported that a company named Lykos Therapeutics had been working on a drug that used MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. They had been trying to get FDA approval to bring the drug into the market. However, their application was rejected, and the federal government asked the company to provide additional evidence supporting the drug through other clinical trials demonstrating its safety and effectiveness.
The research was eventually dropped, but this is not the only case of drugs being experimented with to treat serious health issues. Reportedly, pharmaceutical companies have tried to use psilocybin to treat depression, but their efforts haven’t borne fruit yet. Some companies continue to experiment, hoping to use the drugs for medical purposes. However, cases like Tranqlara and Pierce Woodrow have no roots in reality. The show’s creators likely stumbled upon the aforementioned or similar real-world research and development in the pharmaceutical industry. It is possible that they used it to create Tranqlara, but everything else surrounding the drug, including Woodrow’s crimes and the illegal experiments at the Echo Park cult, is entirely made-up.
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