Gal Yadid, Ph.D
NeuroPsychoPharmacology

Abstract:

Project Status:

Patent pending.

Pre clinic study finished.

Next step- clinical trial (diagnostic).

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Background:

Major depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. For some individuals, major depression can result in severe impairments that interfere with or limit one’s ability to carry out major life activities.

Prevalence of Major Depressive Episode Among U.S Population (2020):

• An estimated 21.0 million adults in the United States had at least one major depressive episode. This number represented 8.4% of all U.S. adults.

• The prevalence of adults with a major depressive episode was highest among individuals aged 18-25 (17.0%).

• An estimated 4.1 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the United States had at least one major depressive episode. This number represented 17.0% of the U.S. population aged 12 to 17.

• Up to 66% of suicide cases in U.S are related to depression.

Reference: NIH- https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression

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The problem:

Despite the variety of treatments available for depression, they are far from ideal. The treatments serve as a temporary therapeutic option for 30%-50% of the patients, thus many patients experience recurrent episodes of depression during their lives, and most of them remain without treatment which places them at life-threat situation, and thus tend to suicide.

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• Today there is still no biological tool to diagnose depression.

• Finding the right drug and the most appropriate dose for a specific patient is a complex task, which may take weeks to months.

• In fact, the lack of reliable objective diagnostic tests for depression, beyond a compilation of symptoms, means that the diagnosis of the syndrome is quite variable, with no clear line distinguishing people who have mild clinical depression from those who are simply having a tough time in the course of normal life.

• Patients who do not receive an adequate and suitable medicinal response to their depressive state, the chances of their treatment being successful decrease in each round of medicinal experience. This may lead in the future of this research to a personalized treatment depending on the profile of the biomarkers revealed per patient. It takes between 3-10 weeks for the existing drugs for depression to take effect and on average 6 weeks from the start of treatment

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The solution:

Prof. Gal Yadid and his team at BIU found microRNAs which are small single-stranded non-coding RNA molecules (miRNAs) that have the potential to be useful noninvasive and sensitive biomarkers candidates for diagnosis and for miRNA-based intervention therapy. These miRNAs can serve as peripheral noninvasive biomarkers for major depression, as they are:

• Fast and reliable diagnose

• Distinguish between depression and simple moodiness

• Finding a suitable treatment for individual patient

• Higher rates of success and less time for each treatment.

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Market potential:

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Clinical depression is a chronic mood disorder affecting nearly 322 million people worldwide, with a lifetime prevalence of approximately 19% of the population. With potentially life-threatening consequences, depression is a major health concern that can lead to suicide. It is estimated that up to 50% of the 800,000 suicides per year worldwide occur within a depressive episode.

• The global depression treatment market is US$ 10.1 Bn in 2022, and expand at a CAGR of 5.2% to reach US$ 16.8 Bn by 2032

• Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease (World Health Organization, 2017)

• Patient costs for insurance companies are very high and thus any technology or solution capable of reducing these costs is desperately needed Depression contributes to the estimated $100 billion annual cost of depression for U.S. employers, including $44 billion a year in lost productivity alone (Beck et al., 2014; Stewart, Ricci, Chee, Hahn, & Morganstein, 2003).

Potential target Market:

- insurance companies

- governments and social security

- state-mandated health service organizations

- doctors and therapists

Reference:

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/depression-treatment-market https://www.dbsalliance.org/education/depression/statistics