Feb 17 (Reuters) – Drug developer Compass Pathways said on Tuesday its psilocybin-based depression therapy reduced the severity of symptoms in a late-stage study, sending its shares up nearly 23%.
The experimental therapy, COMP360, is based on the psychedelic compound, psilocybin, and is designed as a short-term, episodic alternative to daily antidepressants.
The fast-growing market for psychedelic-based treatments for psychiatric conditions could be worth up to $50 billion, according to analysts.
Compass Pathways’ therapy was evaluated in two large trials involving more than 1,000 patients with treatment-resistant depression.
In the latest study, patients who received two high doses of the treatment three weeks apart showed a greater reduction in symptoms after six weeks than those given a lower dose, the company said.
Compass said patients who took two 25 milligram doses of its COMP360 treatment saw an improvement of 3.8 points in their condition, as measured on a standardized depression symptom scale, compared to a 1 mg dose in its second late‑stage study.
In June 2025, the company said the first late‑stage study of a single 25 mg dose showed an improvement of 3.6 points in severity symptoms, compared with a five-point reduction that analysts and investors had expected.
The treatment’s efficacy was also lower than that seen with Johnson & Johnson’s ketamine-based Spravato in studies, which is already approved to treat the condition.
Across both late‑stage studies, the treatment was generally well tolerated and no new safety concerns were reported, Compass Pathways said.
The company has requested a meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and plans to submit its drug for approval later this year, it said.
(Reporting by Sahil Pandey and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Shinjini Ganguli)
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