Progress in bipolar disorder drug design toward the development of novel therapeutic targets: a clinician’s perspective

Michele Fornaro, Lubna Kardash, Stefano Novello, Andrea Fusco, Annalisa Anastasia, Domenico De Berardis, Giampaolo Perna, Mauro Giovanni Carta*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal(Systematic) Review article peer-review

Abstract

Introduction: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a considerable burden to the affected individual. The need for novel drug targets and improved drug design (DD) in BD is therefore clear. Areas covered: The following article provides a brief, narrative, clinician-oriented overview of the most promising novel pharmacological targets for BD along with a concise overview regarding the general DD process and the unmet needs relevant to BD. Expert opinion: A number of novel potential drug targets have been investigated. With the notable exception of the kynurenine pathway, available evidence is too scarce to highlight a definitive roadmap for forthcoming DD in BD. BD itself may present with different facets, as it is a polymorphic clinical spectrum. Therefore, promoting clinical-case stratification should be based on precision medicine, rather than on novel biological targets. Furthermore, the full release of raw study data to the scientific community and the development of uniform clinical trial standards (including more realistic outcomes) should be promoted to facilitate the DD process in BD.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)221-228
Number of pages8
JournalExpert Opinion on Drug Discovery
Volume13
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 22 Jan 2018

Keywords

  • Bipolar disorder (BD)
  • drug design
  • novel therapeutic targets
  • PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIAL
  • RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED-TRIALS
  • GLYCOGEN-SYNTHASE KINASE-3
  • ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY
  • DOUBLE-BLIND
  • INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY
  • ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS
  • ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE
  • ANXIETY DISORDERS
  • CIRCADIAN GENES

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