After a long, strange trip, Compass Pathways CEO Kabir Nath is close to bringing its psilocybin pill COMP360 to market

Compass Pathways CEO Kabir Nath is preparing the company for a possible FDA decision on COMP360, its synthetic psilocybin pill for treatment-resistant depression, potentially in the first half of next year. Nath left a senior pharmaceutical role to join Compass after its second recruitment pitch, motivated in part by his father’s death by suicide, and now faces substantial professional and financial risk because the company depends on a single unapproved product. Compass has added 150 employees, expanded marketing, moved into a new Jersey City office, and is preparing sales and clinic operations. In its latest trial, just under half of participants experienced at least a 50% reduction in depressive symptoms within six weeks. The treatment involves a supervised, approximately six-hour dosing session in a quiet room, without directed psychotherapy. FDA approval is not guaranteed, and a rejection could severely damage the company, while approval would open a new treatment option for patients whose depression has not responded to standard antidepressants.