The recent American Psychiatric Association annual meeting featured a lecture on drug development by Sanofi’s former head of CNS development Robert Lenox. In a post-meeting interview, he weighs in on the highs and lows of psychiatric drug development, as well as the newly released fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

At least two companies in the neuroscience space are set to deliver potentially good news by year’s end, with other promising candidates in the offing, according to industry consultant Harry Tracy, who compiled a list of the top 10 partnering opportunities in the field for the upcoming Therapeutic Area Partnerships meeting.

With the potential for a multi-billion-dollar blockbuster on its hands, Eli Lilly could conduct a confirmatory trial or even seek near-term approval of sola after pooled data revealed a hint of disease modifying potential in mildly affected Alzheimer’s patients, though the company also may be grasping at straws.