Who we are
Founded in 2016, our first major initiative is developing psilocybin therapy through late-stage clinical trials in Europe and North America for patients with treatment-resistant depression.
We are taking a new approach to mental health and are committed to developing care pathways and therapies that will help patients and their families, and ease the burden on healthcare systems. Backed by a team of leading experts in medicine, mental health, business, and academia, we put the patient at the centre of everything we do.
Why we exist
COMPASS co-founders George Goldsmith and Ekaterina Malievskaia experienced significant difficulties finding help for a family member’s depression some years ago. They also encountered many others who have struggled with ineffective treatments, severe side effects, and the feelings of helplessness and disempowerment. COMPASS Pathways was created as a response to these challenges.
Our principles
COMPASS’s founders are driven by direct and personal experience of treatment-resistant depression, of the inconsistency of health system responses to mental health issues, and of the need for better care options. They and the company are committed to developing patient pathways and therapies that improve mental health care, and then making these available and accessible to patients who will benefit from them. COMPASS will do this in collaboration and partnership with others.
Our work is based on scientific rigour, and we will adhere to the highest standards of intellectual and scientific integrity in all that we do. We expect the same approach from those with whom we work.
We believe that improved access to scientific data is key to accelerating the translation of basic research to clinical use that allows patients to receive improved diagnostics and care in the most timely way. We will adhere to the highest standards in collecting data, and will make data available to the research community as soon as possible after study completion. We will publish all clinical study results, positive and negative, in an open and transparent way, recognising and attributing appropriately the contributions of the partner organisations and individuals with whom we have worked.
We want the benefits of our research, and our results, to be available and accessible to researchers, thereby inspiring and accelerating the development of therapies that will change patients’ lives.
We wish to build a sustainable business model, discovering, developing and supplying innovative therapies to current and future patients. To this end, we will be open to flexible, value-driven approaches to pricing and the exercise of intellectual property rights that will both incentivise innovation and enable access to it.
How we help
We develop innovative treatment approaches along a well-defined path: from translational research through regulatory approval to patient access. Translational research takes findings in clinical research and moves them into medical practice and meaningful health outcomes.
Clinical and pharmaceutical development
We are developing our clinical research programme using scientific advice processes supported by regulatory agencies.
Academic research
We want to increase access to treatments and options for patients, and to further research that will improve mental health outcomes. In addition to using our psilocybin for our own clinical trials, we are making it available, free of charge, to members of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) through its Medicines Chest programme. We are looking at extending this approach to other eligible scientific associations and researchers with approved protocols.
Partnerships
Collaboration and partnership are key to developing a new approach to mental health. We are bringing together digital health innovators, healthcare systems, and payer systems for the benefit of patients.
Tackling unmet need in mental health care
The individual and societal burden of mental health disorders is significant. Our initial focus is on developing psilocybin therapy for patients suffering with treatment-resistant depression, though we will also explore other innovative treatments and additional indications in due course. Depression is an area of significant unmet medical need and the leading cause of disability and ill-health worldwide.
Our values
We have put a lot of thought into the kind of organisation we want to build, the culture we want to have, and what we want to champion.
Our whole team has worked together to articulate four core values that define who we are, what we do, and how we do it.
Careers
COMPASS is a life sciences company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health. Our team is based in London and currently comprises 10 people. Each person on our team is committed to making a valuable contribution to improving patient experiences and outcomes in mental health care.
Internships
We welcome internship applications throughout the year. If you are interested in joining our small and growing start-up team, please contact us. Our full-time vacancies are listed below.
Head of Communications (London)
We are hiring a full-time Head of Communications to join us in our mission to transform lives by addressing mental health challenges. The head of communications will develop and lead all aspects of the company’s internal and external communications, in order to help the business to achieve its goals.
Key job deliverables will include:
– Good understanding, among internal and external stakeholders, of what COMPASS is and does
– Positive perception of COMPASS among key stakeholders
– An engaged workforce
– Successful management of issues and crisis communications
Clinical Project Manager (New York City)
Are you an aspiring project manager with a passion for innovation in mental health? Join our growing team as we expand into the USA.
– In addition to the main TRD project, we have a number of other studies and are looking for a junior PM to support those studies and learn about project management, psychedelic research and an innovative approach to drug development and patient care
– We would like to train/mentor a receptive candidate who is looking for a challenging role with a bit of a difference
– The ideal candidate will have clinical research experience (not necessarily gained as a CRA), an inquiring mind and great enthusiasm to work in an exciting and fast-moving environment
– There are amazing opportunities for growth and learning through exposure to new ideas
For a complete job description including roles and responsibilities and ideal profile, please get in touch below.