The 2nd Global Summit for Precision Psychiatry, Brussels

Precision Psychiatry is an emerging approach to deal with high disease heterogeneity, complicated pathology, and different social trajectories of many mental disorders. The aim is to provide treatment for the right patient at the right time, instead of applying the same anti-psychotics and anti-depressents, irrespective of individual characteristics.

There is now a community of scientists, patients, policymakers, industry representatives and regulators determined to bring about a paradigm shift in the field. They were brought together in Brussels 15-17 May by Fondation FondaMental and the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology for the 2nd Global Summit for Precision Psychiatry, chaired by the distinguished scholars, such as Prof. Marion Leboyer, Prof. Martien Kas, Prof. Brenda Penninx and Prof. Andrew Miller. NeuroCentury supported the organisation of the Summit.

The participants discussed how, in order to achieve precision psychiatry, science needs to target more the specific etiological mechanisms. Biological markers will need to emerge to select more precise groups of patients. Regulators will also need adapt in how they assess treatment efficacy. There are now tools to develop a biologically based framework for mental disorders. Deep phenotyping to identify homogenous clusters of patients with common transdiagnostic signatures is increasingly possible. Policy is also playing its part, with important new initiatives, as European Mental Health Initiative. Crucially, the focus will need to be on what is meaningful for the patient, with simpler, patient-centric protocols in clinical trials. Digital diagnostic and therapeutic tools will help, and they are now embraced by major pharma companies. All in all, the way mental health will be delivered in 10 years’ time is very different to how it is done today.