Problem

Psychiatry does not work.

Since the emergence of pharmacotherapy for psychiatric conditions in the 1950s – and despite an ongoing global mental health crisis [1], [2] – there has been an ongoing struggle to develop and market medicines that effectively address the deeply nuanced nature of mental health disorders.

For instance, in 2021, over 55 million Americans were reported to be taking either a second-generation (SSRIs & SNRIs) or third-generation (Bupropion & others) Antidepressant (AD), Anxiolytic (ANX), or Antipsychotic medicine. [3] Even with the widespread use of such medicines, there has been an overwhelming amount of either inconclusive or negative information pointing to their sustained efficacy, with some critics even concluding that over 80% of the intended effects given by these medicines come from placebo with others outright interpreting that such interventions do not improve patients’ quality of life in the long run. [4] [5]

Furthermore, it is apparent that the specified second and third-generation ADs and ANX’s, which happen to be the current global first-line of treatment against anxiety and depression, come with a host of off-target effects (side effects) ranging from loss of libido, apathy, emotional blunting, weight gain, brain fog, and in the case of Bupropion, epileptic seizures. [6] [7]

To make matters worse, it is evident that the private sector has largely withdrawn from the market. Other than a few notable acquisitions, the field has largely failed to even attempt to develop new medicines for psychiatric indications.