The discovery and development of effective medicines for the treatment of
psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression has been heralded as
one of the great medical achievements of the past century. Indeed, the profound
impact of these medicines on our understanding of the pathophysiology underlying
these diseases, the treatment of psychiatric patients and even our social
perception of mental illnesses cannot be underestimated. However, there is still
an urgent medical need for even more effective, safe and well-tolerated
treatments. For example, currently available treatments for schizophrenia
address mainly the positive symptoms and largely neglect the negative symptoms
and cognitive disfunction which greatly impact overall morbidity. Similarly,
whilst the