Psychedelics-focused biotech Compass Pathways has signed a research collaboration with New Jersey’s Hackensack Meridian Health regarding the delivery model design of its investigational COMP360 psilocybin treatment.
In late December, Compass reported phase 2 safety data from the first clinical trial of psilocybin in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). That news came fast on the heels of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies' (MAPS) application to the FDA for MDMA, marking the first new drug submission of a psychedelic-assisted therapy for PTSD.
Long associated with counter-culture use, psilocybin is the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms that produces hallucinogenic effects. Compass, MAPS and others have been evaluating the safety and tolerability of psilocybin in patients with PTSD for several years.
“Our network’s leadership in mental health and extensive experience in treating depression in clinical practice will inform how new mental health treatments may be accessed by patients in the future,” Robert Garrett, Hackensack Meridian’s chief executive, said in a Jan. 16 press release.
Compass has plans to use psilocybin to treat other conditions beyond PTSD. It already has a pair of phase 3 trials ongoing for single-dose and repeat-dose regimens of the drug in treatment-resistant depression. Those studies are expected to be released this summer and mid-2025, respectively. The company also is currently running a phase 2 trial in anorexia nervosa.