The purpose of this contract is enhance technology transfer from innovative and entrepreneurial scientists by providing a mechanism for synthesizing potentially useful psychotherapeutic medications. Scientists who are interested in discovering drugs usually have the capability to synthesize only small amounts using the experimental methods which they have developed. These small quantities are usually too small for the drug to be evaluated behaviorally. Furthermore, these scientists do not have the capability of synthesizing the compounds according to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) required before the drug can be evaluated in humans. Drugs that are synthesized by this contractor using a non-GMP synthesis will be used in animal studies to assess both the general pharmacology of promising compounds and to obtain some indications of the potential efficacy of the compound. Any of these compounds that show promise as a potential treatment for mental illness will be synthesized according to GMP, evaluated for their toxicology in long term animal studies and, if found to be safe, will be evaluated in clinical studies for their efficacy. The synthesis contract will be used for drugs that have the potential of being useful in treating mental illness and for which there is some reason to believe that they will act on the Central Nervous System.
