Meet the Briton betting on magic mushrooms to help treat depression
George Goldsmith, founder of Compass Pathways, has created a synthetic version of psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms
George Goldsmith, founder of Compass Pathways
Credit: Compass Pathways
Back in the 1960s, George Goldsmith’s use of magic mushrooms was purely recreational. “It was... an exploration like many people do when they're younger. I found it really very interesting.”
Now magic mushrooms have propelled Goldsmith higher than he could ever have possibly imagined - to the helm of a company worth $1.99bn (£1.49bn).
Indeed Compass Pathways, the London-based mental health start-up Goldsmith founded and runs with his wife, Ekaterina Malievskaia, has tripled in value since stocks launched on the Nasdaq on September 20th - tribute, Goldsmith says, to the “level of need that drives people to view us as that important”.