Patients with Major Depressive Disorder are the first to benefit from PKB and Clerkenwell’s New Partnership
Clerkenwell Health has contracted with Patients Know Best (PKB) to streamline and accelerate their clinical trial recruitment process, beginning with a dedicated initiative for individuals living with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).
Clerkenwell Health is a UK-based clinical research organisation (CRO) and site network focused on advancing clinical trials in neurological and psychiatric conditions. Since 2021, Clerkenwell Health has worked with more than 20 biotech companies developing treatments for conditions including depression, PTSD, anxiety, addiction, pain, and cognitive disorders.
With three purpose-built research sites, including a unique NHS-partnered facility, and further sites planned, Clerkenwell Health is building a specialist network designed to expand access to high-quality CNS research across the UK. Its model combines specialist trial expertise, compassionate patient care, and dedicated research infrastructure to support faster, more reliable clinical trial delivery.
The collaboration connects Clerkenwell Health with PKB, the world’s largest Personal Health Record (PHR) solution, which has over 8.5 million registered patients as of September 2026. This includes a substantial mental health service user base, driven by PKB’s position as the leading sector patient engagement portal (PEP) contracted by one-third of England’s NHS mental health trusts.
In their first project, eligible MDD patients will be matched directly to Clerkenwell’s trial criteria using coded clinical data. If a patient is registered to the PKB platform and their data matches the trial criteria, a trial banner will be presented to the patient both in PKB’s web-based solution and directly within the NHS App. The patient can then determine if they would like to learn more about the trial and decide if they would like to share their medical record with the Clerkenwell team via PKB, who will take the patient through to the screening stage. Educational support is provided to patients via useful resources which are made available in PKB’s web-based digital library and directly within the NHS App.
Early patient response is promising. Within 4 weeks of the banner presenting in patients' records, 308 patients confirmed that they would like to take part in the trial and enter the pre-screening stage with the Clerkenwell Health team, showing strong indications that PKB will be able to support Clerkenwell in finding required trial participants.
PKB’s citizen-mediated data sharing approach dramatically speeds up the recruitment process as the approach removes traditional friction, putting individuals in control of sharing their health data while opening up new avenues to participate in life-changing studies and trials.
Effective patient recruitment is critical to the success of clinical trials, particularly in mental health, where finding eligible participants can be challenging. Our partnership with PKB gives patients greater visibility of relevant research opportunities and, importantly, puts them in control of whether they want to explore and participate in a trial. The early response from patients has been extremely encouraging, and we’re excited about the potential of this partnership to make clinical research more accessible to people who could benefit from taking part.
The NHS Ten Year Plan set a bold ambition to accelerate trial recruitment and position England as a global research leader. Our model brings equitable visibility to clinical trials, giving patients the keys to share their data and step forward. Because we have spent years building trusted patient relationships across UK mental health trusts, our network is uniquely placed to reach eligible participants at scale. Early results show that putting this power directly into patients' hands is the single best way to deliver on national goals.
