Two-thirds of physicians surveyed believe psilocybin therapy has potential benefits for patients with treatment-resistant depression

London, UK and New York, US, January 19, 2022

COMPASS Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS), a mental health care company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health, and Sermo, a global knowledge leader in physicians, today announced the results of a survey of Sermo physician members that showed two-thirds (66%) of physicians surveyed believe that psilocybin therapy has potential therapeutic benefit for patients with depression. treatment resistant (TRD).

More than 320 million people worldwide suffer from major depressive disorder (MDD)i the leading cause of disability worldwide and one of the fastest growing mental illnessesii. About a third of these 100 million patients are not helped by existing therapies and suffer from TRD iii .

Psilocybin therapy is an approach under investigation for the treatment of mental health issues, including TRD. It combines the pharmacological effects of a synthesized version of psilocybin, a psychoactive substance that is an active ingredient in certain species of mushrooms, with psychological support ^iv .

The survey of 259 Sermo member physicians, sponsored by COMPASS, was conducted in November 2021 and completed by participants from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Denmark, Spain and From the Netherlands. Physicians were asked for their thoughts on the future of psychiatric therapy and the potential role of psilocybin therapy.

Main results of the survey:

• 66% of doctors surveyed believe that psilocybin therapy has potential benefits for patients with TRD
• 50% would prescribe psilocybin therapy, if approved; 32% are undecided
• The greatest potential benefits of psilocybin treatment are believed to be: improved efficacy in treatment-resistant conditions (30%), rapid onset of action (26%), and a different mechanism of action than existing therapies ( 19%).
• The biggest potential barriers to treatment were cited as: needing a dedicated space for six to eight hours (28%), lack of therapists trained in a new model of psychological support (21%), and office infrastructure (15% ).
• Opinions on the optimal setting for administering psilocybin varied by region: 50% of European respondents said hospital; 42% of American respondents declared a network of specialized centers
• Physicians also noted the need to educate healthcare professionals about the potential benefits of psilocybin therapy and how to incorporate the therapy into their practice, if approved.

“Serious mental illnesses, such as treatment-resistant depression, have affected too many people in society for too long. Doctors are looking for new approaches to speed up the healing process, especially for patients for whom current therapies have failed,” said Murali Doraiswamy MBBS. , FRCP, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine and adviser to Sermo.

Dr Guy Goodwin, Chief Medical Officer of COMPASS Pathways, said: “These findings underscore that physicians need more options to help patients with treatment-resistant depression. COMPASS is developing COMP360 Psilocybin Therapy through a rigorous research program in the hope that we can offer such an option. It is very encouraging to see that so many physicians see the potential that psilocybin could have and this information will help us understand how to introduce psilocybin COMP360, with psychological support, into medical systems, if approved.

-Ends-

Survey methodology

The survey was designed to assess attitudes towards the use of psilocybin therapy in general, in psychiatry. The survey was conducted online via Sermo’s RealTime platform and the random sample of physicians received compensation for their time and expertise. Limitations of the survey include sampling bias, inability to infer causality from opinion polls, unmeasured confounding variables, and other factors.

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 goal is to improve the lives of those who suffer from mental health problems 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 Breakthrough Therapy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD), and we have completed a Phase IIb clinical trial of psilocybin therapy for TRD, in 22 sites in Europe and North America. . This was the largest randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trial of psilocybin therapy ever conducted, and our primary data showed a statistically significant (p www.compasspathways.com

Availability of other COMPASS Pathways information

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Forward-looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. In some cases, forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “may”, “could”, “will”, “could”, “should”, “should”, “expect”, “has intention to”, “plan”, “goal”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “contemplate”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” and “in progress”, or the negative form of these terms or other comparable terms, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements include express or implied statements regarding, among other things, the safety or effectiveness of psilocybin therapy, including COMP360, as a treatment for depression, the business strategy and objectives of COMPASS, including including its ability to launch and commercialize products, COMPASS’s expectations for the timing of its pivotal Phase III program and the potential for this or other trials to support filings and regulatory approvals, COMPASS’s ability to continue to advance its research or develop plans to bring its product candidates to patients, including COMP360, clinicians’ perceptions of the potential benefits and efficacy of COMP360 over other available therapies, including any new therapies that may be approved for the indications we are studying, and COMPASS’s expectations regarding the benefits of therapy with psilocybin and the effectiveness of its management team. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are neither promises nor guarantees, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond within the control of COMPASS and which could cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others: preclinical research and clinical development are long and uncertain, and therefore our preclinical studies and clinical trials may be delayed or interrupted, or may never advance to or into the clinic; and the risks and uncertainties described under “Risk Factors” in COMPASS’s Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 9, 2021 and in subsequent filings. 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 to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result 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.

About Sermo

Sermo transforms the experience, expertise and insights of physicians into actionable insights for the global healthcare community. Collaborating with more than 1.3 million healthcare professionals in 150 countries, the company offers physicians a unique social platform and community that fosters impactful peer-to-peer collaboration and discussion on issues important to them and their patients. . Sermo offers on-demand access to physicians through a suite of proprietary technologies to deliver business intelligence that benefits pharmaceutical partners, healthcare and the medical community as a whole. To learn more, visit www.sermo.com.

Requests

Media: Tracy Cheung, tracy@compasspathways.com, +44 7966 309024
Investors: Stephen Schultz, stephen.schultz@compasspathways.com, +1 401 290 7324

^I WHO (2017). Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders Global Health Estimates [Online]. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/254610/WHO-MSD-MER-2017.2-eng.pdf [Accessed 21 October 2021]
ⁱⁱ WHO (2012). Depression: a global crisis [Online]. Available at: https://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/wfmh_paper_depression_wmhd_2012.pdf [Accessed 21 October 2021]
ⁱⁱⁱ Al-Harbi KS. Treatment-resistant depression: treatment trends, challenges and future directions. Patient preference and compliance. 2012; 6: 369–388
^iv Ross et al, 2016; Griffiths et al, 2016; Carhart-Harris et al, 2016