The launch of Clerkenwell Health further positions the UK as an attractive destination for international psychedelic drug developers looking to conduct trials.
After launching in January this year, Clerkenwell Health closed its first round of funding from a mix of British angel investors and psychedelic focussed VCs including Vine Ventures, and the team have now signed their first major clients and institutional partnerships.
Bolstered by significant regulatory and pharmaceutical experience, Clerkenwell Health will help psychedelic drug developers get their treatments to market at a pace.
The rapid roll-out of clinical trials will be made possible by a partnership with The University of Manchester, which have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Clerkenwell Health to launch the team’s first clinical trial in late 2021.
CEO of Clerkenwell Health, Tom McDonald, said: “Our first round of funding was a huge success and we are raising a larger Seed round over the coming months.
“The demand for psychedelic-assisted therapy trials in the UK has exceeded even our expectations. We have accelerated the roll out of services and trials by expanding our team.”
This roll out of services has begun with the recruitment of Helen McAskill, an experienced Senior Clinical Research Director who has held leadership positions across a range of traditional CROs and mental health organisations.
McDonald is confident that in the near future, it will be commonplace for patients suffering from anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions to receive controlled doses of psychedelic medicine in combination with structured talking therapy programmes.
With one in four people in the UK suffering from some form of mental health condition, there is an urgent need to develop new and more effective treatments.
The UK is becoming one of the global leaders in psychedelic-assisted therapies to help address the expected rise in mental health illness triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
