WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials vetoed the Food and Drug Administration’s plan to fast-track the review of a psychedelic treatment for severe depression, STAT has learned, highlighting possible internal discord between senior leadership and the Make America Healthy Again movement.
A psilocybin treatment from Compass Pathways made the FDA’s list of promising medicines to be granted a speedy regulatory review, according to five people familiar with the process. But when Commissioner Marty Makary presented that list for sign-off to the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees the FDA, and to the White House in October, his superiors shot it down, the people said.
The veto came just hours before the FDA announced the first recipients of Commissioner’s National Priority Vouchers, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Of the 10 drugs the agency put forward, only Compass’ medicine didn’t make the final list.
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