UK-based depression medicine developer Compass Pathways closed an $80m series B round yesterday backed by McQuade Center for Strategic Research and Development, part of pharmaceuticals group Otsuka.
The round also featured biotech company builder Atai Life Sciences as well as Founders Fund, Able Partners, Camden Partners Nexus, Perceptive Advisors, Skyviews Life Science and Soleus Capital.
Founded in 2016, Compass is working on therapeutics to treat mental health conditions for patients who have found existing treatments ineffective.
The company’s lead drug candidate is intended to combat depression through neurological pathways activated using a psychedelic compound called psilocybin which is extracted from mushrooms.
The series B cash going towards further development of the candidate, which is currently undergoing a clinical trial spanning 20 sites in Europe and North America, in addition to Compass’s preclinical pipeline. It also plans to establish more ties with academic and clinical research institutions.
Robert McQuade, president of McQuade Center for Strategic Research and Development, has joined the board of directors at Compass in conjunction with the round.
McQuade said: “We are dedicated to investing in innovative and creative products that contribute to the lives of people everywhere. New innovations are desperately needed for people with treatment-resistant depression.
“Compass’s scientific rigour, and the [US Food and Drug Administration] breakthrough therapy designation for their psilocybin therapy program, position the company as a long-term leader in the field.”
The round comes after Compass secured approximately $31.5m in a late 2018 series A round featuring Principia SGR, Subversive Capital, Thiel Capital and unnamed funds, family offices and individuals. Atai Life Sciences and Thiel Capital also supplied seed funding at an unspecified date.