Rising rates of depression amid the coronavirus pandemic underscore the need for innovations in mental health care, like psychedelics, according to George Goldsmith, CEO, chairman, and co‑founder of mental health company COMPASS Pathways.
"About 322 million people suffer from depression around the world — and that was before this current pandemic — but about 100 million of those just aren't helped by current treatment," Goldsmith told Cheddar. "So we really focused a lot on, 'how do we bring innovation to patients?'"
COMPASS Pathways is a United Kingdom-based biotech startup, researching a synthetic form of the psychedelic compound, psilocybin, for treatment resistant depression. Its drug, called COMP360, received "breakthrough therapy designation" from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2018, meaning there was evidence it could substantially improve treatment over existing therapies and could move more quickly through drug development.
"We're working closely with regulators in every country that we're working with to develop clinical trials, and if those clinical trials are successful, then those medicines will be made available to patients," Goldsmith said.
The time is right for innovations in mental health care. Stressors related to the coronavirus pandemic may have tripled rates of depression across the U.S., according to a survey published in JAMA Network Open in early September. Some 27.8 percent of adults reported experiencing depression symptoms amid the pandemic, compared with 8.5 percent previously, according to the survey results. And the burden fell disproportionately on people who had limited financial or social resources.
"A single experience, a single dose of psilocybin for many people, can create an immediate and sustained benefit for people suffering with depression. And that really intrigued us," Goldsmith said.
COMPASS Pathways debuted on Nasdaq in September in a $146.6 million upsized initial public offering. It's move kicked off a flurry of interest from other psychedelic health and wellness companies looking to go public or uplist for similar access to liquidity and investors. Goldsmith said that for COMPASS Pathways, the move was motivated by expenses associated with the research the company is doing in nine countries.
"We're committed to really addressing mental health care at scale, and capital, shareholder capital, really helps with that," Goldsmith said.
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
You'll just have to wait for interest rates (and prices) to go down. Plus, this deal's a steel, the big carmaker wedding is off, and bribery is back, baby!
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
William Falcon, CEO and Founder of Lightning AI, discusses the ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, and how everyday people can use AI in their lives.
U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered,” European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday, adding that they will trigger toug
