Clerkenwell Health

Clerkenwell is a clinical research organisation (CRO) in the UK that supports drug developers as they attempt to commercialise psychedelic therapies. Clerkenwell offers support from preclinical studies up to Phase III of the drug development process.

Clerkenwell Health

Clerkenwell Health is a mental health startup that was launched in early 2021. The company was founded by Dr Henry Fisher, Tom McDonald, and Sam Lewis, who have been working together for the past decade. Dr Fisher, who has a PhD in chemistry from Oxford, began his career working at the Beckley Foundation, a UK-based NGO focused on psychedelic research, and later at Volteface, the UK’s first drug policy think tank. Tom McDonald has a background in patient-centric care and clinical data from his previous experience working in pharma and medtech companies like Accenture and IQVIA.

Clerkenwell Health is dedicated to putting patients at the heart of everything it does. The company has a team of experts that includes clinical, psychiatric, and psychedelic specialists who support the design and delivery of trials for clients. The company’s Chief Medical Officer is Dr Emilio Arbe, who has 25 years of experience in drug development within biotechs, and the Senior Trials Manager is Clare Knight, who has a background in Cambridge University’s Psychiatry Department.

In 2021, Clerkenwell Health signed its first two clients, Octarine Bio and Psyence, with multi-year contracts to design and deliver phase I & II trials. Clerkenwell has partnered with the Danish synthetic biology drug development company Octarine to accelerate patient access to psychedelic therapies in Europe. They have also partnered with Psyence to provide CRO services. The company is based in the UK, which has a growing policy landscape that is becoming more supportive of psychedelic drug development, with the introduction of the Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway, similar to the FDA’s fast-track designation, which reduces the time to market for innovative medicines. The UK is becoming a hub for market-leading psychedelic companies, and Clerkenwell Health is well-positioned to take advantage of this trend.

The company works closely with Dr Sara Tai and her team at the University of Manchester, though it will develop its own location for future CRO research. Clerkenwell plans to open Europe’s first commercial facility for psychedelic clinical trials.