Neurocentury, together with the European Policy Centre and the Brain Capital Alliance, hosted a Round Table on “Innovation Across the Lifecycle of Brain Health”, which took place in Brussels on 3 July 2025. The event was opened by the Chair of the Public Health Committee in the European Parliament Adam Jarubas and European Commission’s Kasia Jurczak, Head of Combatting Diseases in DG Research and Innovation. The Round Table was convened a day after the presentation by the European Commission of the European Life Sciences Strategy.

First part of the discussion focused on finding the right balance between breakthrough and incremental innovation. The former is key to finding new molecular pathways and mechanisms that may be modulated to prevent or treat disorders. Publicly and venture-funded discovery science needs to place more high-risk, high-reward bets. Incremental innovation can be highly impactful in modifying disease trajectories and improving the quality of life for patients, often by reformulating existing therapies. In Multiple Sclerosis, where numerous new treatments emerged in the past 30 years, what made a difference was “flipping of the paradigm”, earlier application of high-efficacy treatments, all in a controlled fashion and with the support of patients. 

Secondly, the funding gap in brain health was addressed. Despite their growing impact, neurological and mental health conditions have long been under-resourced. Bridging this gap is about smarter investment. Funding should be integrated into a broader system upgrade that accelerates the translation of high-quality science into startups and scalable industry solutions. Ambitious initiatives – like a large-scale platform for brain disorder prevention – can catalyse progress. There is also need for clearer pathways for clinical validation and better alignment between promising scientific ideas and the right mix of equity and non-dilutive funding.

Thirdly, enablers were discussed, including regulatory ones, the use of real-world data, and AI. In this context, it was said that a new paradigm of co-responsibility is needed: one can only move by making the most of what everyone can contribute, from patients to emerging biotechnology firms, regulators, and big industry. All stakeholders need to be co-responsible for the process of innovation. Patients’ recorded experience, once valued and taken into consideration, creates an opportunity for progress and sustained investment in brain health.

The Round Table was organised with the support of Merck.