Graham Pechenik, a patent and intellectual property (IP) lawyer, recently tweeted about claims he found surprising in a pending application for psychedelic therapy using psilocybin, the hallucinogenic ingredient in magic mushrooms.
Claims are the meat and potatoes of a patent. They define the parameters and limitations of what is being claimed for an invention that an individual or organization wants to have ownership of.
That’s why Pechenik felt moved to call out a patent application from Compass Pathways, a psychedelic mental health company that has previously garnered attention for both its promising results in the treatment of depression using psychedelics, as well as its transition from a charity to a for-profit company, its patent of a synthetic form of psilocybin, and having investors like Paypal founder Peter Thiel.