Most nervous system disorders, including psychiatric disorders, lack effective treatment, and most of the potential neurotherapeutic drugs identified in basic research do not make it to human testing:
- Basic researchers often lack the resources to develop novel therapeutics strategies to the point where they can attract biopharmaceutical industry interest
- Biopharmaceutical companies often hesitate to invest in neurotherapeutics development because there are few clinically validated targets or strategies, there is a long track record of failure, and many nervous system disorders affect relatively small populations.
The goal of our group is to discuss initiatives for small molecule drug discovery and development, from hit-to-lead chemistry through phase I clinical testing.
Key Person: Fernanda Laezza, UTMB