A Trade-Secrets Fight Over Psilocybin Research Is Headed to Trial, as Compass Awaits the FDA
A federal judge in Maryland has refused to end the lawsuit Terran Biosciences filed against Compass Pathways in August 2022, clearing the way for a trial. The court denied Compass's motion for summary judgment on Sept. 25, and the case is scheduled for trial in September 2027, according to Compass's latest quarterly report to the SEC. Terran, the University of Maryland, Baltimore and former UMB researcher Scott Thompson accuse Compass and two of its former officers and directors of misappropriating what the complaint calls "psilocybin trade secrets" from Thompson's university lab, under federal and Maryland law. They want unspecified damages and an order barring Compass from using or disclosing the information.
Compass's side: the company says it "strongly disputes the allegations," that the trade secret at issue "is not used" in its COMP360 psilocybin treatment, and that the claims are about publishing it, not putting it in a product. The fight has also been about missing evidence: in August, the court refused to sanction the plaintiffs over lab notebooks from Thompson's lab that no one can find, ruling Compass hadn't shown they went missing after the duty to preserve them began. The case is moving at the same time as the FDA reviews Compass's application to approve psilocybin. The lawsuit doesn't stop that review, but it remains a financial risk that Compass says it can't yet estimate. First flagged in Psychedelic Alpha's Bulletin #234.