Subscribe

“The UK is extremely well-placed to become the leader in psychedelics research and trials thanks to its globally competitive framework for clinical trials, which is why we chose to launch our operations in London.” – Tom McDonald, CEO of Clerkenwell Health

 

Clerkenwell Health is accelerating drug development through “innovative design and delivery” and is advancing “the highest mental health and neurological therapies through the clinical development pipeline.” It is home to the first psychedelic therapy clinic in Central London’s medical district, nearby Harley Street. The site has been custom-developed by their in-house clinical trial managers, scientists, and clinicians and designed around the specific needs of psychedelic-assisted therapy.

The company just raised 2.1 million in seed funding, bringing it to a total capital raise to date of 2.5 million pounds. A new clinical trial powered by Clerkenwell and Toronto-based biotech company, Psyence, will be executed to “assess the efficacy and safety of psilocybin assisted psychotherapy versus psychotherapy alone for the treatment of adjustment disorder due to an incurable cancer diagnosis.” (taken from here)

 

 

Clerkenwell Health was founded in 2021 by Dr Henry Fisher (Oxford PhD in Chemistry) and Tom McDonald. The UK is becoming a hub for market leading psychedelic companies, from Compass Pathways to Small Pharma and Beckley Psytech, the largest companies and the most highly anticipated drug candidates are being discovered by British drug developers. (read more about their history here)

 

Sam Lewis (CFO), Dr Henry Fisher (CSO) and Tom McDonald (CEO)

 

So far, Clerkenwell Health has signed Octarine Bio, a synthetic biology company producing synthetic psilocybin out of sugar, and Psyence to create and deliver phase I and II trials in the following years.

Clerkenwell Health is also working with the Canada- and US-based companies Mindset Pharma and Mydecine, which focus on treatments for neurological and psychiatric disorders, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for depression and nicotine addiction.

Rather than developing one compound or class of compounds for a single condition, Clerkenwell Health will work with multiple drug developers to tackle a range of complex mental health conditions using various psychedelic agents. It will also offer training for therapists who want to work with psychedelic drugs. (read more on The Guardian

 

The team began the trial for adjustment disorder in terminally ill patients with Psyence in October 2022. Stay tuned for this company – they are one to watch!