Our Story

Clerkenwell Health was created to transform how mental-health and brain-health research is carried out. We saw a simple truth that too many clinical trials had overlooked: people aren’t “subjects”. They’re human beings — complex, emotional, vulnerable and deserving of care.

For years, trials for psychiatric and CNS conditions struggled not because the science was weak, but because the experience wasn’t built around the people taking part. When care is missing, trials fail. When people feel safe, respected and understood, good science follows.

We founded Clerkenwell Health to change this.

A different kind of research company

Our founders came together with a shared vision: a mental-health research organisation that treats participants as people first — and proves that compassionate, dignified care leads to better scientific outcomes.

Their backgrounds span mental-health policy, clinical data, life sciences and psychedelic research. What united them was the belief that trials needed a new model — one engineered specifically for the realities of CNS and psychiatric conditions.

Designing trials around humanity

We opened Europe’s first commercial clinical trial site dedicated to psychedelic-assisted therapy, a space intentionally designed to support people safely and respectfully during profound psychological experiences.

But our work didn’t stop there.

The same philosophy now guides trials across the full spectrum of mental-health and neurological conditions — from depression and anxiety to dementia and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Why the UK — and why now

The UK is one of the world’s most supportive places for innovative mental-health research. With progressive regulation, world-leading academic institutions and rich healthcare datasets, it’s uniquely positioned to accelerate new treatments.

This environment allows us to run high-quality, ethically rigorous studies while making them more accessible to people across the country.

Looking ahead

Our next chapter is bold: building a national, five-site clinical trial network across the UK. Some of these sites will be integrated directly into NHS infrastructure — a first-of-its-kind model designed to improve recruitment, performance and participant experience.

Our aim is clear:

To make the UK the most attractive location globally for CNS and psychiatric research, where science and compassion work in harmony.

We call it Science with Soul.

Why we exist

Millions of people live without effective treatment. At the same time, groundbreaking research struggles to reach the people who need it most.

Clerkenwell Health exists to bring these worlds together — so no one feels invisible when seeking help, and no promising treatment fails simply because no one showed up.

Our mission is simple and human:

Better trials. Better treatments. Better care for the people who deserve it.