UK Psychedelic Trials Start-Up Issues National Call for Volunteers to Trial Innovative Medicines for Mental Health Disorders

• UK company Clerkenwell Health calls for volunteers to take part in upcoming trials testing the effectiveness of psychedelic treatments
• Company are working on the design and delivery of upcoming trials for conditions such as anxiety, alcohol use disorder and PTSD
• Trials will combine an innovative combination of psychedelic drugs use with specialized therapy

London, Tuesday 18^th July: The UK start-up Clerkenwell Health is today issuing a national call for volunteers to step forward for upcoming trials testing psychedelic drugs’ ability to treat a range of mental health conditions.

Clerkenwell Health is a British start-up that designs and delivers clinical trials to find cutting-edge psychedelics treatments, and last year became Europe’s first commercial organisation dedicated to running psychedelics clinical trials for a range of drug developers.

Having established their London base in 2022, located just off Harley Street, the company is now focused on designing and delivering trials to find psychedelic treatments for issues currently not being effectively dealt with through the NHS. Those interested in signing up for potential new trials can do so at Clerkenwell’s website.

An estimated 1 in 6 adults have experienced a mental disorder like depression or anxiety in the past week, while recent figures uncovered by the BBC found more than a quarter of patients on antidepressants in England – about two million people – have been taking them for five years. On top of this, NHS prescribing figures show that one million more people than five years previously are now taking antidepressants, taking the total to eight million.

All of this points to an urgent need to deliver alternative forms of treatment for issues such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and addiction – with trials expected to kick off in 2023.

The trials designed by Clerkenwell Health combine the use of psychedelics – such as psilocybin, the compound found in magic mushrooms – with therapist techniques specifically developed through a bespoke course Clerkenwell has developed in-house, in a pioneering move for the industry.

Should the trials prove to be effective in treating conditions long-term, there is now also an economic case for their introduction into the UK health system. Recent analysis done in part by Clerkenwell Health – funded in collaboration by Drug Science, Policy@Manchester and Clerkenwell Health – has found that psilocybin-based treatment combined with therapy may provide a more cost-effective solution to treating depression than methods such as CBT.

Tom McDonald, CEO of Clerkenwell Health, said:

“As we prepare to trial psychedelic treatments for mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, PTSD and alcohol use disorder, we need to ensure we have the necessary number of qualifying volunteers to help test these innovative medicines and ultimately bring them to patients.

“All of our trials are specifically designed with the patient in mind, and drugs are administered in a safe, clinical setting with approval from the MHRA. By taking part in a trial, you could help identify the next wave of cutting edge treatments for those affected by conditions with which the NHS is struggling to cope. If you are interested please sign up via our website today!”

Read also: Will the UK’s Ambitious Life Sciences Investment Power-Up the Psychedelic Sector?