Mr. Ian McDonald reports

BRIGHT MINDS BIOSCIENCES APPOINTS PHARMACEUTICAL LEADER, STEPHEN COLLINS, M.D., PH.D., AS CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Dr. Stephen D. Collins, MD, PhD, will join Bright Minds Biosciences Inc. as chief medical officer, effective immediately. The company also announces that Dr. Mark A. Smith MD, PhD, will retire from his role as acting chief medical officer but will continue to serve in an advisory capacity.

"As Bright Minds continues to evolve its focus to address conditions with high unmet medical need, including epilepsy, depression and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders, we are thrilled to welcome Dr. Collins at this pivotal time. Throughout his distinguished career as an R&D [research and development] leader, Steve has a demonstrated track record of leadership and strategic oversight -- from preclinical development through successful commercialization of several drugs across therapeutic areas. His experience advancing novel therapeutics in the CNS space aligns perfectly with our mission to develop the next generation of serotonin drugs to improve patient outcomes," said Ian McDonald, chief executive officer and co-founder of Bright Minds Biosciences.

"I am delighted to join the Bright Minds team and to continue investigating new chemical entities to treat rare epilepsies, an important and underserved area of therapeutics. With the recent initiation of the Breakthrough study, an open-label phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the safety, tolerability and efficacy of BMB-101 in adult patients with classic absence epilepsy and developmental epileptic encephalopathy (DEE), I look forward to bringing my experience to guide the company through its next phase of clinical development," stated Dr. Collins.

Prior to joining Bright Minds, Dr. Collins simultaneously served as chief executive officer of Biscayne Neurotherapeutics, a small-molecule clinical-stage company focused on CNS disorders, and chief executive officer and president of Biscayne Pharmaceuticals. Biscayne was sold to Supernus Pharmaceuticals in October, 2018, for future development.

Before heading the two Biscayne companies, Dr. Collins held several top leadership positions at companies targeting CNS disorders, including as chief executive officer of Neurotherapeutics Pharma and chief scientific officer and vice-president for clinical affairs of Ovation Pharmaceuticals, a CNS-focused biopharmaceutical company acquired by Lundbeck AS for $963-million (U.S.). Three anti-convulsant therapies were developed and approved there, including Sabril for infantile spasms and Frisium for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

Prior to Ovation, Dr. Collins served as a global director at Johnson & Johnson, overseeing early-stage development of a variety of CNS agents and as a member of the global in-licensing advisory team. Prior to Johnson and Johnson, he worked in Abbott Laboratories' pharmaceutical and hospital products divisions, where he developed drugs for a range of CNS indications, including Depakote, Depakote ER, Depacon and Gabitril, as well as a range of older seizure medicines. He was responsible for all preclinical and clinical programs supporting the successful approval of multiple NDA (new drug application) and sNDA (supplemental new drug application) submissions.

Dr. Collins has served on several boards of companies that have developed epilepsy drugs, including Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Novartis, and Engage Therapeutics, which was sold to UCB SA.

Prior to industry, Dr. Collins served on the faculty of medicine at Case Western Reserve University and the University of California (San Francisco) and was principal investigator or investigator on over 40 drug and device trials. He earned his MD and PhD at Case Western Reserve University after completing undergraduate studies in biophysics at the University of California (Berkeley).

About Bright Minds Biosciences Inc.

Bright Minds Biosciences is a biotechnology company developing innovative treatments for patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders. The company's pipeline includes novel compounds targeting key receptors in the brain to address conditions with high unmet medical need, including epilepsy, depression and other CNS disorders. Bright Minds is focused on delivering breakthrough therapies that can transform patients' lives.

Bright Minds Biosciences has developed a unique platform of highly selective serotonergic agonists exhibiting selectivity at different serotonergic receptors. This has provided a rich portfolio of NCE programs within neurology and psychiatry.

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