We can now go after multiple questions at a time. Neurogen, a Connecticut company, formed a dozen years ago to develop a treatment to calm anxieties without the drowsiness and risk of addiction associated with drugs like Valium and Xanax. By studying the messenger system, Neurogen discovered a way to affect the part of the GABA system responsible for controlling anxiety while leaving the rest of it intact. The need is there, Paulfreyman said. So is the financial incentive.
Mental illness affects hundreds of millions of people nationwide.
Research in mental illness has lagged because of the stigma attached to the diseases, because the complexity of the diseases, and because the lack of understanding, he said. Companies need a place to start. In the past, it has been serendipity and hunches. In the future, he hopes, it will be knowledge and logic. The future is very promising.