Compass Pathways (NASDAQ:CMPS) said it remains on track to complete its new drug application, or NDA, filing for COMP360 in treatment-resistant depression in the fourth quarter of 2026, following positive Phase III results and six-month durability data from two trials.
Chief Executive Officer Kabir Nath said the company believes the clinical and regulatory profile of COMP360 has been “largely de-risked” after the studies met their primary endpoints with high statistical significance. He said the program has shown rapid onset, durability through six months and what the company characterized as a generally well-tolerated safety profile.
Regulatory process and rescheduling
Management said it does not expect recently finalized FDA guidance on psychedelic drug development to affect the ongoing review of COMP360. Responding to a question about the guidance’s discussion of 12-month blinded durability data, Nath said COMPASS had maintained dialogue with the FDA throughout the program and that the complementary design of its two Phase III studies aligns with the guidance.
“We honestly do not think that these guidelines are going to impact the regulatory process that’s already underway for us,” Nath said.
The company said it is working toward potential accelerated approval and is preparing for a first-pass approval. Nath said the company has received questions on submitted portions of the NDA and is responding quickly, adding that discussions on labeling and a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, typically occur later in the review process.
Chief Commercial Officer Lori Englebert said COMPASS is accelerating its eight-factor analysis for submission to the FDA’s controlled-substances division and is seeking additional clarity from the Drug Enforcement Administration on rescheduling. She said the company expects the DEA to reschedule within its customary 90-day period, though the exact timing remains fluid.
COMPASS expects a potential launch in the first half of 2027, although management said the timing will depend on FDA review, federal DEA rescheduling and state-level rescheduling actions.
Commercial preparations underway
Englebert said COMPASS has completed hiring its commercial leadership team and has begun recruiting for a sales force. She said her direct reports include executives from companies including Johnson & Johnson, Gilead, Otsuka and Axsome, and collectively have led more than 70 product launches.
The company has also expanded strategic collaborations with Radial and Osmind, bringing its total number of collaborations to eight. Englebert said the partnerships are intended to support site and patient experience as COMPASS prepares for commercialization.
COMPASS plans to use existing interventional psychiatry treatment centers, which support in-office treatments requiring multi-hour monitoring. Englebert said there are more than 8,000 such sites in the United States, including centers that provide treatments such as Spravato, transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroconvulsive therapy.
The company plans to deploy a field team across those sites and also target referring physicians who treat large numbers of patients with TRD. Management said COMP360’s proposed infrequent dosing could potentially expand access for patients who live farther from treatment centers.
On reimbursement, Englebert said the company’s market-access team has been engaging with payers and has received positive feedback regarding the burden associated with treatment-resistant depression. At launch, COMPASS intends to have a field reimbursement team in place to help treatment sites navigate coding and reimbursement processes.
Management said it will determine potential rebate arrangements and payer negotiations closer to launch as it incorporates recently released data into COMP360’s value proposition.
Training, REMS and patient monitoring
Englebert said COMPASS views site preparation as consisting of both training and education. The company is participating in grants to third-party organizations that train sites in psychedelic treatments, and said more than 1,000 people have already received psychedelic-focused training.
Training specific to COMP360 and the final monitoring requirements will follow final labeling, she said. Sites will also require REMS-related training and certification once the FDA approves the product and finalizes the REMS program.
Management said it expects to use any period between FDA approval and DEA rescheduling to help sites prepare for product administration. Englebert said the company expects a minimum six-hour monitoring requirement based on the clinical trial protocol and anticipates that the individual monitoring patients could be broadly defined as a healthcare provider, subject to the final REMS.
Nath also discussed a post-hoc analysis showing that 80% of administration sessions in the company’s Phase IIb and PTSD work were conducted in silence. He said the finding supports the company’s view that psilocybin is an “inner-directed” experience and could broaden the range of personnel who may be able to monitor patients in the future.
Pipeline and financial position
While the company’s near-term priority is completing the TRD submission, securing approval and launching COMP360, Nath said COMPASS is continuing its Phase III PTSD study. The trial is underway and is designed to enroll 300 patients across three arms, including a number of Veterans Affairs sites. Management said military- or VA-related participants will be capped at no more than 15% of the study population.
COMPASS also said it is restarting its investigator-initiated study program, with studies beginning in areas including obsessive-compulsive disorder. Nath cited alcohol use disorder and other psychiatric conditions as potential future opportunities but said the company remains focused on the TRD launch process in the near term.
The company reported $433 million in cash as of June 30, which Nath said is expected to fund operations through launch and into 2028.
About Compass Pathways (NASDAQ:CMPS)
Compass Pathways (NASDAQ: CMPS) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of psilocybin therapy for mental health disorders. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in London with additional offices in the United States, Compass Pathways is pioneering the use of synthetic psilocybin combined with psychotherapy to address treatment-resistant depression. The company’s flagship program is a Phase IIb clinical trial evaluating COMP360, its proprietary psilocybin formulation, which has received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the U.S.
