UK pharma firm ‘stole’ psilocybin secrets from professor
Mental health specialists in dispute over psilocybin | Terran Biosciences accuses Compass Pathways of ‘milking’ professor before ‘secretly’ filing a patent for the medicine.
New York-based biotech firm Terran Biosciences has accused British pharmaceutical company Compass Pathways of stealing trade secrets from a professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
The suit, filed Friday, August 5, accuses Compass of misappropriating trade secrets from university professor Scott Thompson. The trade secrets relate to a way to create depression using psilocybin without hallucinogenic effects.
Terran—which has an exclusive licence to the trade secrets—alleged that, in May 2019, Compass contacted Thompson to pursue a potential partnership to further research.
The pair reportedly signed a mutual non-disclosure agreement.
“During these negotiations, Compass repeatedly emphasised that it was excited about the opportunity to work together with Thompson on his research ideas,” said the lawsuit. “In turn, Thompson disclosed the psilocybin trade secrets to Compass in confidence.”
However, “Compass milked Thompson for all the information it could about his confidential research” before “secretly” filing its own patent application related to psilocybin. Soon after, Compass is alleged to have ended negotiations abruptly, and stated it wouldn’t enter into a collaboration with Thompson.
Compass’s provisional patent application claimed co-administration of 5-HT2A antagonists (including ketanserin) with psilocybin to reduce the negative side effects of psilocybin.
“Tellingly, the provisional patent application does not include any data regarding this combination,” the lawsuit stated. “That is because Compass had none. It stole the ideas for this patent application from Thompson and instead sought to patent them itself.”
Thompson had filed his own patent just two weeks before Compass’s filing.
Terran claimed: “Compass was upset that Thompson had filed his patent application before Compass’s, which might put a dent in its plan of stealing Thompson’s IP.”
In an emailed comment to LSIPR, Compass said: "We highly value our academic collaborations to progress research and help change mental health outcomes for people who urgently need it.
"While we take the allegations seriously, we strongly disagree with the claims and are confident that the facts will ultimately bear this out. We are also considering our own legal options in response."
This article was updated after publication to incorporate comments from Compass.
Terran has asked the court for injunctive relief, and compensatory and exemplary damages.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox.
