Obstacles to Clinical Research and New Drug Development in Schizophrenia

Enormous opportunities currently exist to develop and test new treatments for schizophrenia. Treatment research not only holds promise for alleviating the suffering and disability associated with this illness, but also in providing clues to etiology and ultimately prevention. At the same time as there are increasing opportunities for treatment development, there are also increasing challenges and obstacles to the conduct of needed research. A variety of different issues need to be addressed in facilitating appropriate research including treatment settings, reimbursement for costs of care, legal and ethical issues affecting patient participation, stable funding, and the development of clinical investigators. Adequate attention to these problems in strategic planning can help to ensure that emerging opportunities are neither wasted nor delayed.