No more time is required to have new antidepressants in the market

What is it about?

Advanced diagnostic technology and accumulated research findings have provided a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of depression. In particular inflammation, glutamate neurotoxicity and cerebral insufficiency have been found to play a role in major depressive disorder and/or late-life or vascular depression. This suggests that targeting inflammatory mediators, cytokines, glutamate receptors and brain ischemia, through screening antidepressant effects of currently approved medications and centrally acting drugs which have not been used for treating depressed patients (drug repurposing), could be the solution to the problem of insufficient therapeutic effects of currently approved antidepressants in almost 2 thirds of depressed patients.

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Why is it important?

The number of patients with refractory depression has remarkably increased, reflecting the indispensable need for novel treatments to be approved in a short duration. Drug repurposing has been found to accelerate the addition of new antidepressants which could be used as stand alone or add on therapy to the first line antidepressant medications such as selective serotonin reputable inhibitors. Drug repurposing is a promising alternative to the traditional drug discovery process as novel antidepressent (repurposed) drugs could be approved after relatively rapid and cost-effective procedures.

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