Compass Pathways, or COMPASS Pathways, is a British pharmaceutical company developing psychedelics as potential medicines.[1][2] Its main drug candidate, psilocybin (COMP360), is currently in phase 3 clinical trials for treatment-resistant depression.[1][3] This candidate has received breakthrough therapy status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).[1] It is the most advanced psychedelic drug candidate in development besides Lykos Therapeutics's midomafetamine (MDMA).[4]
Compass Pathways has entered partnerships with several independent psychedelic academic scientists, including Jason Wallach, Hamilton Morris, and Adam Halberstadt among others, to develop novel psychedelic drugs for potential medical use.[7][8][9][10][11][12] Wallach's lab is said to have sought patents for over 200novel compounds as of May 2024.[11]
Compass Pathways switched from being a nonprofit organization to a for-profit company in 2016.[10] The pharmaceutical company has been backed and funded by a number of tech entrepreneurs such as Peter Thiel.[5] The media outlet Sifted remarks that the biotech billionaire Christian Angermayer was instrumental in the founding of Compass Pathways."[13]
