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COMPASS Pathways

Psychedelics research for mental healthcare

COMPASS Pathways logo
101-200 employees
  • Healthcare
  • Enterprise
  • Mental health
  • Wellbeing
  • Science
  • Biotechnology
Soho, London, UK

Company mission

COMPASS Pathways' mission is to accelerate patient access and experience to evidence-based innovation in mental health care, to achieve a vision of a world of mental wellbeing.

Led by a woman
Top investors

Our take

There’s been a major movement towards treating mental health issues with psychedelics over the last few years. While the vast majority of this work is still in R&D and clinical trials, the space has become awash with capital investment, with a handful of companies even going public.

COMPASS Pathways is one of those to go public, along with MindMed in 2020. The company is developing methods for treating depression and other mental health issues with psilocybin – the naturally occurring psychedelic chemical found in mushrooms.

The growth of COMPASS from being founded in 2016 to IPO in 2020 has been extraordinary. There have been a few ups and downs since then (as is the case with most PLCs), with each rise and fall dependent on the progress of its trials. However, the fact that the company recently appointed former Otsuka Pharmaceutical executive Kabir Nath as CEO, bolstered by $285 million in private placement VC shows that it's determined to stay ahead of the competition.

Freddie headshot

Freddie

Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle

Benefits

  • Hybrid working
  • Generous paid time off/annual leave allowance including two company closings per year and your birthday off
  • Comprehensive and market-leading health and wellness benefits including medical and dental insurance, and wellness rewards
  • Confidential counselling or therapy sessions
  • Mental Health First Aid training
  • Support from our own dedicated wellbeing concierge to guide team members to all of our resources
  • Employee-led yoga, meditation and wellbeing support groups
  • Highly competitive base pay, bonus and equity participation programmes
  • Pension and retirement benefits
  • Substantial individual annual learning and development allowance

Company values

  • Compassionate – People suffering with mental health challenges should have options. Patients inspire us every day to change mental health care systems that don’t work for everyone. We are determined to improve mental wellbeing.
  • Bold – We are courageous. We do not accept the status quo in mental health care systems, therapies or perceptions. We believe a transformation is needed to reduce human suffering.
  • Rigorous – We are seeking answers to how novel therapies, like COMP360 psilocybin therapy, may create new pathways to mental wellbeing. We’re basing every decision, and every hope, on meticulous evidence.
  • Inclusive – The surest way to bring new therapies to the greatest number of people is to work openly with stakeholders from the start. We collaborate to find ways to accelerate innovation and access for all.

Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)

Apr 2020

$80m

SERIES B

Oct 2018

$25m

SERIES A

Total funding: $108.9m

This company has top investors

Leadership

Kabir Nath

(CEO, not founder)

Joined as CEO in 2022, having served as Senior Managing Director of Global Pharmaceutical Business at Japanese company Otsuka. Prior to this they spent a decade at Bristol Myers Squibb in a number of roles including SVP of Virology, US Pharmaceuticals.

Ekaterina Malievskaia MD

(Co-founder & Chief Innovation Officer)

Physician with a Medical Degree from St Petersburg Medical Academy, Russia. Was a Clinical Instructor of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and a Research Professor at City University of New York. Later moved to London to work in mental healthcare and co-found COMPASS Pathways with husband George Goldsmith.

George Goldsmith

(Co-founder & Executive Chairman)

Former senior advisor at McKinsey & Company’s leadership, later joining the company as CEO of TomorrowLab. Founded Tapestry Network in 2002, an organisation committed to improving leadership performance and governance effectiveness in regulated sectors. Spent 20 years as CEO, now serving as Non-Executive Chairman..