If we want to reduce welfare dependency, we have to help people get well and stay well.

Situated in an Edwardian townhouse off Harley Street, the clinic is a bland place with revolutionary aims. Apart from its calming décor and opaque curtains there are few indications that it is a site where participants will experience mind-bending drug trips.

Clerkenwell Health, founded last year with ambitions to help make the UK a world leader in psychedelics research, is outfitting a clinic near Harley Street, central London, that will be Europe’s first commercial setting for clinical trials. The first trial, scheduled to start at the end of this year, will involve treating 60 people with terminal cancer who all have adjustment disorder — which means they are struggling to come to terms with their diagnosis — with a combination of psilocybin and psychotherapy.

Europe’s first commercial facility for psychedelic drug trials is to open in London, with the goal of making the UK a global leader in psychedelics research and innovation.

The British startup Clerkenwell Health aims to begin trials in its central London facility in August, initially focusing on the use of psilocybin to help people deal with the anxiety associated with a diagnosis of terminal illness, and to support them through their end-of-life care.

Launched early last year, Clerkenwell Health still has a relatively small team (with just 15 employees) but has big ambitions. The company tells us it is currently working with three clients, including drug development company Octarine Bio, to design and deliver clinical trials for psilocybin and its analogues, but that it is looking to expand into other substances in the near future. Clerkenwell Health is also developing a patient-facing ehealth app and launching a therapist training programme, all in the hopes of making psychedelic treatments viable at scale. Eventually, it aims to be the go-to partner for all stages of psychedelic therapy and drug development.