[Insights into neurological drug development in Japan]

Neurological disorders have varying prevalence rates and cause short- and long-term impairments and disabilities. These disorders involve high costs and impose burdens on patients, caregivers, and society. Therefore, continued research and new therapeutic development in these areas have been expected worldwide. Recently, much attention has been paid to neurological drug development, and pharmaceutical companies are conducting many clinical trials in neurological fields. Industry-sponsored clinical trials have been performed not only in North America and western Europe but also in the so-called emerging regions such as the eastern European, Latin American, and Asian countries in recent years. In Japan, although the number of global clinical trials has increased in recent years, there is still a large gap between Japan and the US or European countries with regard to access to neurological drugs. In this article, we have summarized the status of new drug development for neurological disorders and the delays in neurological drug development in Japan. We have also discussed future tasks, including those for academia, related to promoting clinical trials in neurological fields in Japan.