Clinical research in psychopharmacology, the current situation and its perspectives. A conversation with Pierre-Michel Llorca

Pierre-Michel Llorca; Luc Zimmer

doi:10.1016/j.therap.2020.12.003

Clinical research in psychopharmacology, the current situation and its perspectives. A conversation with Pierre-Michel Llorca

Therapie. 2021 Mar-Apr;76(2):67-70. doi: 10.1016/j.therap.2020.12.003. Epub 2020 Dec 5.

Authors

Pierre-Michel Llorca¹, Luc Zimmer²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, University of Clermont Auvergne, 63100 Clermont-Ferrand, France; Fondation Fondamental, 94000 Créteil, France.
² Lyon Neuroscience Research Centre, INSERM, CNRS, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69675 Bron, France; CERMEP, Hospices Civils de Lyon, 69500 Bron, France; National Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology INSTN, CEA, 91400 Saclay, France. Electronic address: luc.zimmer@univ-lyon1.fr.

PMID: 33358188
DOI: 10.1016/j.therap.2020.12.003

Abstract

For this issue, Luc Zimmer, professor of pharmacology and chair of the Neuropsychopharmacology Committee of the French Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (SFPT), talked with Michel Llorca, professor of psychiatry at the Université d'Auvergne and head of a department of psychiatry at the University Hospital of Clermond-Ferrand. They discuss together the positioning of psychiatry in the neurosciences and the need to build bridges with other medical disciplines. Through examples and professional experiences, they also talk about the difficulties of developing clinical biomarkers for psychiatry and ultimately for psychopharmacology. Finally, they discuss the current difficulties facing research of drugs for psychiatry, pointing out some success stories.

Keywords: Biomarker; Drug development; Pharmacology; Psychiatry.

MeSH terms

Communication
Hospitals, University
Humans
Psychiatry*
Psychopharmacology*