Europe’s first psychedelic drug trial clinic to open in London
pharmafile | May 11, 2022 | News story | Research and Development |
British startup Clerkenwell Health aims to make the UK a global leader in psychedelic research and innovation, with Europe’s first commercial facility for psychedelic drug trials be opened in the company’s central London facility in August.
Clinical trials at the facility will focus on the potential of psychedelic drugs and psychotherapy to tackle mental health conditions, including PTSD, nicotine dependency, and end-of-life anxiety. The research will initially focus on the use of psilocybin to help address the anxiety associated with the diagnosis of terminal illness.
Clerkenwell Health CEO, Tom McDonald, commented: “Clerkenwell Health’s 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.
“With a huge rise in people contacting mental health services in recent years, and with one in 10 consultant psychiatric posts in the NHS currently unfilled, there has never been a more desperate need to identify new and innovative treatments.”
Drug developers are increasingly exploring psychedelic compounds as potential treatments, with modern studies finding the compounds effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other conditions. Further research has additionally indicated the efficacy of psychedelics in treating alcoholism and tobacco dependence.
Studies in psychedelic compounds to treat anorexia, chronic pain, and opioid use disorder are also being developed by some researchers.
“There is clearly a need to facilitate clinical trials with psychedelic drugs beyond the very few academic centres currently doing this research,” Professor David Nutt shared with The Guardian. Nutt is director of the neuropsychopharmacology unit at Imperial College London, and the former chair of the UK’s advisory committee on the misuse of drugs. Professor Nutt continued: “So I welcome an external organisation developing the necessary skills and expertise to support companies wanting to invest in these treatments.”
Ana Ovey
