Interview with Compass Pathways’ Chief Patient Officer

Building on the momentum from Cobenfy’s success, how has the psychiatric drug development landscape evolved over the past 6 to 12 months, and what is the current state of play?

The approval and launch of Cobenfy represents hope in a field that has seen little true innovation in decades. However, we have also seen several late stage failures of once promising candidates in the MDD/TRD space. Despite significant efforts, the unmet needs of this population continue, with up to 1/3 of patients with MDD not benefiting from 2 or more medication trials, yielding approximately 3 million US adults with TRD. The unmet need in this population is a pressing one and the field of psychiatric drug development is ripe for innovation.

From new targets to emerging technologies, where are the most exciting areas of innovation?

The most exciting area of innovation is the development of psychedelic compounds through the FDA pathway for a range of indications. As multiple sponsors progress to larger and more robust latestage trials, there is accumulating evidence that this new class may offer truly differentiated options to patients, if approved, potentially with both rapidacting and durable benefits.