CNS disease therapies take 35% longer to develop than other drugs, says Tufts CSDD

Drugs developed to treat central nervous system (CNS) diseases take 35% longer to complete clinical trials and receive regulatory approval compared to other new prescription medicines, according to an analysis recently completed by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.

Between 1996 and 2010, mean clinical-plus-approval phase time for US-approved CNS drugs was 32 months - or 35% longer than that for non-CNS drugs approved during the same period.

"Despite the longer and more costly development associated with CNS drugs, the CNS new product pipeline is among the richest in the R&D-based drug industry," noted Joseph DiMasi, director of economic analysis at the Tufts, who conducted the study. According to Mr DiMasi, the CNS drug pipeline grew 6% annually during the past decade and currently accounts for 11% of all drug development projects worldwide.