Why we’re opening Europe’s first commercial psychedelic research facility
You may have seen us in The Times and The Guardian recently, or listened to our CSO, Henry Fisher, announcing our ambitions to the world on Times Radio. Building on our team’s deep knowledge and the partnerships we developed so far, we are opening Europe’s first commercial clinical trials facility dedicated to psychedelic-assisted therapies in London.
With the conducive regulatory environment brought about by post-Brexit sovereignty, the UK is fast becoming a central hub for psychedelic research. Our psychedelic speciality facility aims to make the UK a global leader in psychedelics research and innovation.
Tom McDonald, the Clerkenwell Health CEO, said:
“Psychedelic assisted therapy could be groundbreaking for mental health treatment, and the UK is well placed to be at the vanguard of that as a global leader in clinical trials post-Brexit. Our aim is to establish the UK as the heart of the commercial psychedelic research ecosystem, working closely with mental health experts and drug developers around the world to tackle some of the most complex mental health conditions.”
We are already working with North American drug discovery and biotechnology companies, Mydecine Innovations Group and Mindset Pharma, to expand their clinical footprint into the UK and Europe.
Commenting on the current regulatory environment in the UK, Jessica Riggleman, Sr. Director of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs at Mydecine said:
“The UK is committed to their world-leading life sciences industry strategy to drive growth, increase expertise, expand patient access, retain their innovative talent pool, and deliver only the very best treatments to the UK population. When a drug company is developing their regulatory strategy, it is important for them to understand the current environment for innovative drug research and development that responds to unmet medical needs. Drug developers now have the ability to seek accelerated approval using the Innovative License and Access Pathway, where the time to market is reduced for a wide range of medicines under development.”
The CEO of Mindset Pharma, James Lanthier, added:
“The UK is an attractive location to undertake psychedelic drug development as the government are opening up innovation pathways and championing clinical research. We are excited to progress our work in the UK with Clerkenwell Health. Our research into how second-generation psychedelic medicines could treat neurological and psychiatric disorders could benefit many patients in the UK.”
To further support the commercial research ecosystem in the UK, we have also recently launched a first-of-its-kind training programme for therapists looking to work with psychedelic drugs.
The programme is designed and led by leading experts in the field including Dr Sarah Bateup, the former Head of Therapy Research and Training at Compass Pathways, and will prepare the therapy workforce to deliver clinical trials at scale.
Prof David Nutt, director of the neuropsychopharmacology unit at Imperial College London and the former chair of the UK’s advisory committee on the misuse of drugs welcomed Clerkenwell Health’s ambitions.
“There is clearly a need to facilitate clinical trials with psychedelic drugs beyond the very few academic centres currently doing this research. So I welcome an external organisation developing the necessary skills and expertise to support companies wanting to invest in these treatments.”
The first trials will start in August in collaboration with the life science biotechnology company Psyence. The trial will focus on the use of psilocybin for the treatment of adjustment disorder in patients with terminal diagnoses, using psilocybin-assisted therapy to support patients through their end-of-life care.
