By Brett Dumke, MHAM Education Coordinator

Who will develop the next generation of medications for mental illness? That was the question posed by the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Dr. Thomas Insel, on a recent NIMH blog posting. Dr. Insel commented on the recent decision of two major pharmaceutical companies to terminate their psychiatric medication development programs and the likelihood of others to do so as well. If new drug innovation comes to a screeching halt, it will have a profound impact for individuals who have not responded well to medications that are currently available. In order to fill this void, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NIMH may have to play a key part in all phases of drug development in the coming years.  MHAM will continue to monitor this alarming trend and will provide updates when they develop.