Next-Generation Medicines for Neurological and Neurodegenerative Disorders: From Discovery to Commercialization

Abstract

This book delves deeply into the discovery, preclinical and clinical development, and commercialization of next-generation medicines designed to treat neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. The book also covers pharmacologic targeting of the gut-brain axis in neurological and neurodegenerative disorders, the associated obstacles, challenges, and technologies involved, and the role of nanomedicines in addressing some of those challenges. The editors invited leading scientists and researchers with established credentials in CNS drug development and related technologies to contribute to the writing of the chapters. As a consequence, the editor and the readers are presented with a unique perspective of a selection of novel ideas, technologies, and medicines that have the potential to transform the current therapeutic landscape. The book is aimed primarily toward those in the pharmaceutical industry and academia who are involved in the development of drugs for treating CNS disorders. It will also serve as a valuable resource for technology transfer organizations and venture capital firms for selecting and investing in therapeutic ideas for treating CNS disorders. When we think of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders, we typically think of old age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disorders. While it is true that these diseases are responsible for the bulk of the societal and economic cost of CNS disorders, it is also true that CNS disorders are typically difficult to treat as a collective group because they have many general challenges in drug development in common, regardless of patient population or phase of life.