Clerkenwell Health, a leading provider of mental health research, has today (November 28) called for volunteers for the trials which will be looking at whether psychedelics can provide effective treatments for complex mental health conditions.
Ideally, the company would like to recruit a diverse group of volunteers, from right across the country and aged between 18-65, to take part in the trials if they suffer from a relevant condition.
The trials, conducted at Clerkenwell Health’s purpose-built facility near Harley Street in London, are being run in partnership with a number of world-leading drug developers to test whether psychedelic drugs – often combined with talking therapy – can offer a new approach to treating a variety of mental health illnesses.
Regulated psychedelics
The trials are designed to try to find cures for a range of conditions, including PTSD, depression, alcohol use disorder, anorexia, and post-partum depression. Many of the conditions currently have few options for seriously improving the quality of life of patients and avoiding relapse. Clerkenwell will use methods of combining powerful but regulated psychedelics with therapy would look to treat the problem more holistically, providing long-term quality-of-life returns for patients.
According to MIND, approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will be affected by a mental health condition each year and with a significant rise in people contacting mental health services in recent years, the company says there has never been a more desperate need to identify new and innovative treatments.
It says the challenges facing the country’s health service and with mental health challenges on the rise, the search for volunteers to test effective treatments has never been more pressing.
Medical breakthroughs in mental health
Clerkenwell is therefore going national with its search for volunteers in an effort to deliver medical breakthroughs in mental health akin to the Polio clinical trials in the 20th Century.
Henry Fisher, chief scientific officer at Clerkenwell Health, said: “With the current system for treating mental health disorders simply not working, we’re calling for patients to help identify the next wave of treatments. These have the potential to be ground-breaking for the millions of people across the UK who are affected by poor mental health.
“The status quo for mental health treatment has not only resulted in patients experiencing debilitating side-effects, huge waiting lists, and high relapse rates, but is costly, complicated, and broadly ineffective. By participating in upcoming clinical trials, patients have an opportunity to make a valuable contribution to growing research which will support the development of the next generation treatments for mental health conditions.”
According to NHS statistics, 14% of mental health positions in London are currently vacant.
Psychedelic medicines
Clerkenwell Health says its overall vision is to fundamentally change the face of mental healthcare by building the clinical research expertise and care delivery platform needed for a new wave of mental health and neurological treatments – including psychedelic medicines and brain care technologies.
Clerkenwell Health is already recruiting for clinical trials 3x faster than its competitors, has a 600+ therapist waiting list, and is backed by leading mental health and technology investors Matt Cooper, Exceptional Ventures, Vine Ventures, Convergence Partners, and Lionheart Ventures.
Volunteers can sign up on Clerkenwell Health’s website.