New framework to increase success of drug development programs.

What is it about?

Disorders of Central Nervous System (CNS) include such devastating conditions as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, depression, schizophrenia, autism, and others. The success rates of the CNS drug-discovery programs is particularly low, which resulted in a number of pharmaceutical companies withdrawing from CNS field, in the face of an epidemics of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia in the aging population in the developed world. This paper, written by multidisciplinary team of scientists, regulators and clinicians, is proposing a new framework for drug discovery of CNS drugs, which is intended to make the process more rigorous and objective, and ultimately, will result in reductions in late attrition and approval of more medicines for many devastating CNS disorders.

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Photo by jesse orrico on Unsplash

Photo by jesse orrico on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Drug-discovery is a complex process, which involves understanding the interconnected biological processes and the use of multiple model systems to manipulate a pathway that is involved in causing a disease. It involves close collaboration between biologists, chemists, toxicologists, pharmacologists, physicians, representing academia, regulatory bodies and pharmaceutical companies. This process is particularly complicated in the CNS field, where access to the tissue in humans is limited. We propose here a new rigorous and objective framework, termed quantitative systems pharmacology, which includes all the disciplines required for developing a successful drug.

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