The extinction of drugs for clinical research: Can the ECNP medicines chest save them?

There is great concern amongst ecologists and the general public over the loss of species particularly in the animal kingdom. For the past 30 or more years we have seen a similar phenomenon in pharmacological science – the loss of important compounds that are vital to research particularly in the clinical field. It is now time to acknowledge the scale and significance of this problem. In an effort to remedy this problem, the ECNP are trying to facilitate access for researchers to pharmacological tools in order to support experimental medicine studies through the Medicines Chest initiative. Targeted compounds for inclusion in the Medicines Chest are those that have selective actions at important brain targets, and could readily be employed in human studies, for example, compounds that have been shelved by Pharmaceutical companies but for which clinical safety packages and possibly active pharmaceutical ingredients are available.