CNS Drugs III: Psychotherapeutics

Abstract

This two-day symposium reviewed specific aspects of current drug development for psychiatric disorders. The aim was to identify how existing drugs could be improved and what approaches could be adopted to develop new drugs acting by different mechanisms. The meeting was attended by approximately 50 delegates, mainly from multinational pharmaceutical companies or smaller private biotechnology based companies with a few academic clinicians and preclinical scientists. The topics covered on the first day included the influence of genomics and proteomics on drug discovery with reference to antipsychotics, GABAA receptor subunit specific compounds as a route to improved anxiolytics, AMPA receptor modulators as add-on therapy in schizophrenia and corticotrophin releasing factor receptors as targets in depression. The second day placed a greater emphasis on drugs influencing amine neurotransmission; an aspect already raised on the first day by discussion of 5-HT-moduline. The main areas covered were how serotonergic ligands could be used with greater effect in depression and schizophrenia, the therapeutic value of serotonin noradrenaline uptake inhibitors (SNRIs) and the potential clinical value of new amine re-uptake inhibitors. Finally, the meeting discussed the impact of various technological advances in genetics, neuroimaging and psychometric testing in psychotherapeutic drug discovery.