New models for research and development in the treatment of mental illness

Abstract

The pharmaceutical industry's investments in research and development of novel treatments for mental illness have heavily declined in the past decade. Major private investments are, by most experts, seen as necessary to develop new treatments. However, psychiatry is not the only area overlooked by the industry. For decades infectious diseases have also lacked investments in research and development.

Aims

The aims of this study were to investigate the new models of research and development in infectious diseases that emerged after the pharmaceutical industry ceased their investments and to model how these can be used in psychiatry.

Method

A systematic review. We searched PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science for the keywords “infectious diseases”, “research and development” and “pharmaceutical industry”.

Preliminary results

The searches gave a total of 248 references. Among the findings, we want to highlight the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) and the WHO Research and Development Treaty (R&D Treaty). DNDi is a non-profit organization that has developed six new drugs since 2003. The development costs were €150 millions per drug, which is considerably below the costs for drug development claimed by the pharmaceutical industry. The R&D Treaty will commit member states of the WHO to fund development for neglected health needs using alternative incentives like milestone prizes, patent pools and direct grants. The treaty has not yet been agreed upon.

Conclusions

Though a low priority from the pharmaceutical industry, other funding models have proven able to deliver new treatments. This could also lead to more development of non-patentable treatments, e.g. psychotherapy.

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.