India, Oct. 26 -- In 2022, Kabir Nath quit his high-paying executive job at a pharmaceutical company to tackle a project that few wanted to take on - developing psychedelic medication for treatment-resistant depression.

Nath was approached by Compass Pathways, a startup that had a patent on a synthetic version of psilocybin. Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic compound found in 'magic' mushrooms that when ingested, is capable of altering perception and mood. The company was hoping to use synthetic psilocybin to help those with treatment-resistant depression.

Compass Pathways wanted Kabir Nath to join the startup as CEO. Nath, whose father died by suicide, was convinced despite the fact that the drug did not-and still doesn't-have FDA approva...