Promote Human Flourishing by Investing in Innovative Brain Disorder Treatments

The National Institute of Mental Health reported roughly 1 in 5 American adults live with a mental illness, and yet new therapies for some of the more severe diagnoses have largely been stagnant for several decades, until recently.

Take schizophrenia for example—our health care system has been reliant on the same treatment options since the early 1950s.

Schizophrenia is a pervasive issue that affects both the individual and society at large. While only 1.1 percent of Americans have been formally diagnosed with the disorder, approximately 20 percent of inmates in jails and 15 percent of those in state prisons have a serious mental illness. Additionally, schizophrenia is a more strongly correlated predictor of poverty than any other mental health condition. Among young adults in particular, those with schizophrenia have the highest rate of suicide.

Providing treatment to these populations has been challenging because the symptoms can present differently from person to person. In some instances, a patient reacts outwardly to hallucinations, whereas other patients’ symptoms manifest in withdrawal and lack of aspect when overwhelmed with feelings. Both of these reactions prevent patients from establishing meaningful social interactions to integrate into society and engage in meaningful work, but existing drugs are atypical antipsychotics, targeting only one aspect of schizophrenia, and are largely ineffective for up to 30 percent of patients.

Even when effective, the common side effects of these existing drugs can be difficult for many patients. Long-term use of the medication can lead to excessive weight gain or uncontrolled facial movements and tics, called tardive dyskinesia. For some, it can feel as if they are merely replacing one problem with another.

Thankfully, in recent years, new medicines are emerging that show promising signs of being highly efficacious and with a much-improved safety profile to treat both aspects of the disease—something many of us haven’t seen in our lifetimes. These new therapies could finally improve outcomes for schizophrenia patients, and in so doing would have a positive ripple effect on society and open the door to address the side effects of other debilitating diagnoses like Alzheimer’s.

One of the challenges in bringing these types of innovative solutions to market is capital.

A drug currently being developed for neurological disorders is a prime case study. This new medication is currently in the third phase of clinical trials and has been shown to reduce symptoms of psychosis and improve symptoms of social withdrawal and low motivation. It also significantly reduces the negative side effects that make treatment ineffective—or lead patients to stop taking medication altogether.

But it has taken approximately $6 billion from the investment community to reach this level of success. The medication has the potential to be a transformative solution due in part to medical discoveries dating back to the 1990—but it is the partnership from the investment community in recent years that could finally bring such a product to market.

Throughout my prior career and training in medicine, and in my current role determining how to allocate financial capital toward advancements in health care, I have seen the process of developing new medicines from both sides. Without everyday people putting money into these efforts through investment funds, companies may never be able to bring life-saving drugs to market.

While there are other areas in medicine that are well-served by the investment community, solving brain disorders has long been a white space area with limited capital allocated to it. But in the past decade, I have seen firsthand a shift in how many investors are thinking about their capital. Increasingly, they are eager to pursue the untapped economic opportunity in delivering new products that will improve society.

Investors of any increment have the power to deliver a better world—one where humans flourish. To do so requires intentionality to combine the search for secular growth in the market with the opportunities to solve for societal needs.

Now is the time to play a role in shaping the future of the medical and biotech industries, and the best way to support the flourishing of vulnerable populations is to invest in the companies that are doing just that. It is by this process that we will continue to make major medical breakthroughs previously unimaginable and elevate our society as a whole.

Kyle Rasbach, PhD, PharmD, serves as a managing director for Eventide Ventures and a senior research analyst for other Eventide investments. Dr. Rasbach has extensive experience in clinical pharmacology, basic science, and health care equity research. Prior to joining Eventide, Dr. Rasbach was a managing partner at Pappas Capital, a life science venture capital firm that invests across biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, drug delivery, and medical devices.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.