COMPASS Pathways appoints Daphne Karydas to its Board of Directors

LONDON, Sept. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- COMPASS Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS) (“COMPASS”), a biotechnology company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health, today announced the appointment of Daphne Karydas to its Board of Directors, effective September 18, 2023. Ms. Karydas is President and Chief Financial Officer at Flare Therapeutics Inc., a privately held biotechnology company targeting transcription factors to discover precision medicines for cancer and other diseases.

“Daphne is an ideal match for the COMPASS Pathways Board of Directors as we progress our phase 3 COMP360 psilocybin program in treatment-resistant depression and our phase 2 programs in anorexia nervosa and post-traumatic stress disorder,” said George Goldsmith, Chairman of the COMPASS Pathways Board of Directors. “Her deep industry experience, her interdisciplinary approach to implementing growth strategies for biopharma, and her understanding of investor priorities will help ensure that the company is on firm financial and strategic ground as we seek to bring much needed innovation to patients suffering with serious mental health conditions. We are delighted to welcome her.”

“I am excited to join the COMPASS board as the company advances its pioneering COMP360 psilocybin program,” said Ms. Karydas. “Its recent impressive fundraising round was validation of both the potential of psychedelic medicine and the rigorous, evidence-based approach the company is pursuing. I am looking forward to working with the board and the executive team, and doing my part to advance COMPASS’s mission.”

Ms. Karydas has over two decades of experience serving in financial and operations leadership roles with biopharmaceutical and asset management companies. Prior to joining Flare Therapeutics in October 2021, Ms. Karydas served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and in financial and strategy roles at Allergan plc, serving as Senior Vice President, Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis and Strategy at the time of the company’s acquisition by AbbVie in May 2020. She also previously held healthcare analyst roles with JPMorgan Asset Management, The Boston Company Asset Management, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and was a vice president in the healthcare group of the investment banking division of Goldman, Sachs & Co.