Where are new schizophrenia drugs? Experts convene to explore genetic and epigenetic solutions

NEW YORK, March 4, 2011 – Despite significant investment in research and development by pharmaceutical companies, the last decade has seen a marked decline in the number of drugs developed and approved for schizophrenia. A multi-day symposium at the New York Academy of Sciences on Wednesday, March 9 ? Friday, March 11 will convene world-leading experts in clinical, translational, and basic neuroscience to address this problem by examining novel, state-of-the-art approaches to schizophrenia drug development.

More than 20 speakers will describe a variety of promising approaches to developing therapies, including using genetic studies to identify new targets, improving animal models, targeting the epigenome, identifying new small molecule targets, and understanding the functioning of neural circuits. To register or for more information, see www.nyas.org/Schizophrenia2011.

WHAT:

A Scientific Symposium: Advancing Drug Discovery for Schizophrenia

WHO:

Organizers

Stephen Marder, MD, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine

Bita Moghaddam, PhD, University of Pittsburgh

Bryan Roth, MD, PhD, University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Keynote Speakers:

Eric J.Nestler, MD, PhD, Mount Sinai Medical Center

Edward Scolnick, MD, The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University

Patrick F.Sullivan, MD, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

WHEN: