[Guest]

dear doc,
Billions of dollars are being directed at developing newer antidepressants which will increase the level of serotonin in brain, the chemical supposedly causing depression. But sadly enough we are not even sure that serotonin is responsible for causing depression So where is the logic of wasting such huge amounts on it. It would be rather more expedient if money is spent on finding out the real pathophysiology of depression

[Guest]

While I agree that more money needs to be spent on basic research, I find the rest of your comments to be germane. The SSRI market is saturated, we are seeing the remnants of research that began years ago. No drug company is going to profit from a new SSRI. The companies are looking into new mechanisms such as Substance P and secondary messanger systems. So it is possible that we will see real progress in sorting out the pathophysiology. Also, basic research tends to be funded by the government. Market based research is done by the drug companies. There are two different funding systems--one for each. The companies allocate their funds to develop a better product and make a bigger profit. I am not counting the money being spent on marketing. Companies will sometimes fund research on pathology to allow them to get a leg up on the development of new product.
[quote] dear doc,
Billions of dollars are being directed at developing newer antidepressants which will increase the level of serotonin in brain, the chemical supposedly causing depression. But sadly enough we are not even sure that serotonin is responsible for causing depression So where is the logic of wasting such huge amounts on it... [/quote]