COMPASS Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS) (“COMPASS”), a mental health care company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health, is establishing its first Centre of Excellence in collaboration with The Sheppard Pratt Institute for Advanced Diagnostics and Therapeutics in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
The Centre of Excellence will model the “clinic of the future”, showcasing the best thinking in science, therapy, technology, and design. Working as a research facility and innovation lab, it will generate evidence to shape therapy models in mental health care, train and certify therapists, conduct clinical trials including proof-of-concept studies, and prototype digital solutions to improve patient experience. The first wave of research will focus on COMPASS’s investigational COMP360 psilocybin therapy, which comprises administration of COMP360 psilocybin with psychological support from specially trained therapists.
Sheppard Pratt is one of the world’s leading research institutes in mental health and one of the top psychiatric hospitals in the United States. It is a leader in clinical service delivery, supporting more than 70,000 patients annually in its local community, as well as across 42 states and 19 countries. The Centre of Excellence will be led by Scott Aaronson MD, Director of Clinical Research at Sheppard Pratt, a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists.
The Centre of Excellence will be built on the Sheppard Pratt Towson campus and will include at least four state-of-the-art psychedelic therapy rooms, as well as facilities for research and training. In addition to a capital investment to support the design and building work, COMPASS will fund research studies into psilocybin therapy and other therapies, led by Dr. Aaronson.
Dr. Aaronson said, “The Centre of Excellence will enable us to carry out new research in the use of psilocybin therapy for a range of mental illnesses, such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, among others. We are already using COMP360 psilocybin in two investigator-initiated studies in psilocybin therapy for severe treatment-resistant depression and for bipolar type II depression. We can see the enormous potential that this therapy could have on the lives of millions of people with mental health conditions around the world.”
Harsh K. Trivedi MD, MBA, President and CEO of Sheppard Pratt, said, “We are delighted to collaborate with COMPASS on their first Centre of Excellence. There is a tremendous unmet need to provide access to high-quality mental health care, and forging this relationship allows us to transform the delivery of care on a global scale. With great vision and continued investment, we have the potential to revolutionise mental health care treatment and bring innovative solutions to patients as quickly as possible.”
George Goldsmith, CEO and Co‑founder, COMPASS Pathways plc, said, “We want to transform mental health care, which today is not good enough for far too many people. Sheppard Pratt has a long history of excellence in clinical service delivery and commitment to its community of patients. Our Centres of Excellence, beginning with this centre led by the distinguished team at Sheppard Pratt, will help to accelerate our combined work so that we can bring evidence-based innovation, on a large scale, to the people who need it the most.”
About COMPASS Pathways
COMPASS Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS) is a mental health care company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health. Our focus is on improving the lives of those who are suffering with mental health challenges and who are not helped by current treatments. We are pioneering the development of a new model of psilocybin therapy, in which our proprietary formulation of synthetic psilocybin, COMP360, is administered in conjunction with psychological support. COMP360 has been designated a Breakthrough Therapy by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), and we are currently conducting a phase IIb clinical trial of psilocybin therapy for TRD, in 21 sites across Europe and North America. We are headquartered in London, UK, with offices in New York, USA. Our vision is a world of mental wellbeing. www.compasspathways.com
Forward-looking statements
This press release includes certain disclosures that contain “forward-looking statements,” including, without limitation, statements regarding COMPASS’s expectations of its future working relationship with Sheppard Pratt, expectations of plans for and the success of its first Centre of Excellence, and expectations about the efficacy of COMP360. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to COMPASS's relationship with Sheppard Pratt, the ability of Sheppard Pratt to undertake or advance its research projects, and those risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” in COMPASS’s Prospectus filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on 21 September 2020 and in subsequent filings made by COMPASS with the SEC, which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as required by law, COMPASS disclaims any intention or responsibility for updating or revising any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in the event of new information, future developments or otherwise. These forward-looking statements are based on COMPASS’s current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof.
Availability of other information about COMPASS
Investors and others should note that COMPASS communicates with its investors and the public using the company website (www.compasspathways.com), the investor relations website (ir.compasspathways.com), and on social media (LinkedIn), including but not limited to investor presentations and investor fact sheets, US Securities and Exchange Commission filings, press releases, public conference calls and webcasts. The information that COMPASS posts on these channels and websites could be deemed to be material information. As a result, COMPASS encourages investors, the media, and others interested in COMPASS to review the information that is posted on these channels, including the investor relations website, on a regular basis. This list of channels may be updated from time to time on COMPASS's investor relations website and may include additional social media channels. The contents of COMPASS's website or these channels, or any other website that may be accessed from its website or these channels, shall not be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933.
About Sheppard Pratt
Sheppard Pratt is the largest private, nonprofit provider of mental health, substance use, developmental disability, special education, and social services in the country. A nationwide resource, Sheppard Pratt provides services across a comprehensive continuum of care, spanning both hospital- and community-based resources. Since its founding in 1853, Sheppard Pratt has been innovating the field through research, best practice implementation, and a focus on improving the quality of mental health care on a global level. Sheppard Pratt has been consistently recognized as a top national psychiatric hospital by U.S. News & World Report for more than 30 years.