We need new drugs for mental ill-health | Mental health

It’s not just veterans and first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who could benefit if ministers heed Sir Nick Carter’s call (former British army chief calls on ministers to support MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans, February 1). Thousands of people with serious mental illnesses and those dealing with grief or trauma could also be helped.

The shocking lack of progress in the development of transformative psychiatric medications and lack of innovation has left clinicians with few weapons in their arsenal to alleviate mental pain. Families and individuals with long-term distress tell us they desperately need new treatments and therapies.

At the Prince of Wales International Center for Sane Research, our research center in Oxford, we run clinical trials investigating the medical use of innovative interventions such as esketamine and cannabidiol for psychiatric health problems.

The government must prioritize the search for alternative and more effective treatments, rather than relying on drugs invented and first made available more than 60 years ago.
Marjorie Wallace
Managing Director, Sané