Mental health drug research is no longer a top priority for major pharmaceutical companies, as published by two recent studies in the medical journal Science Translational Medicine.
The study, called Next Generation Treatment for Mental Disorders, describes a ‘steady retreat by the private sector’ in the development of drugs for psychiatric disorders even though researchers have identified new clinical and molecular targets and new uses of current treatments, which can all lay the groundwork for developing the next generation of drugs for mental disorders.
Certain drugs, such as antidepressants and antipsychotics, have also been extremely profitable for these companies in the last few decades, despite the continued concern for their efficacy.
So why are pharmaceutical companies halting medical health drug research now, especially when new advances are being made?
The answer, as stated by Dr. Steven Hyman of Harvard University, is that ‘neither vast unmet medical need, nor large and growing markets, nor concerted sales campaigns that attempt to recast ‘metoo drugs’ as innovative can illuminate a path across very difficult scientific terrain.’
The area of mental health research is extremely difficult and costly to conduct due to the lack of understanding of the biological mechanisms behind mental illnesses and the low accessibility of the brain itself.
This news comes at a bad time when there is a growing need for new and improved drugs for various mental illnesses including depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Currently for those living with depression, only a third respond well to the medication while the other two-thirds either experience a mild effect or don’t respond to the treatment at all.
By: Inderjeet Kaur
http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/bigpharma-pulling-back-from-mental-health-drug-research-studies-1.1015154
