Translational and Early Phase Strategies for Treatment Development: Report of ISCTM Autumn 2013 Symposium.

For decades, there has been a distinct disconnect translating a compound's effects from basic neuroscience into clinical efficacy. This disconnect has not only been in terms of generating approved compounds, but also in rejecting targets. During the drug discovery process there are key points to be adhered to that would strengthen the likelihood of a compound being translated to the clinic. These points include 1) the importance of translational pharmacology whereby preclinical pharmacological data should predict clinical efficacy; 2) rigorous early phase drug evaluation to enhance early go/no-go decisionmaking; 3) using exposure response modeling to predict drug efficacy during proof-of-concept trials; 4) designing and conducting the appropriate proof-of-concept study; and 5) optimizing Phase II studies to set the stage for success in Phase III trials. These topics were covered in The International Society for CNS Clinical Trials and Methodology (ISCTM) Autumn 2013 meeting on the topic of translational and early development strategies and tools led by Drs. Potter and Feltner. This report comprises a review of those proceedings with a concluding summary to advance future clinical trials.