- Discussion focusing on new therapeutic targets for schizophrenia and 
challenges in diagnosing and treating bipolar disorder

The Second Asia Pacific Psychiatry Symposium hosted by Luye Pharma Group took 
place as an online event on October 17, 2020. More than 1,000 psychiatrists and 
experts from 9 countries and regions including mainland China, Malaysia, Korea, 
Singapore, and Thailand gathered on "the cloud", to hold talks on the latest 
developments in the treatment of mental disorders, and on clinical diagnosis, 
treatment strategies and related challenges.    

Dr. Lo Tak Lam, Professor of Psychiatry from the University of Hong Kong and 
Chairman of the Mental Health Association of Hong Kong, served as the chairman 
of the conference. A number of psychiatrists from Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, 
Thailand, and Malaysia delivered keynote speeches at the conference. 

With a high prevalence and relapse rate, mental disorders have become a major 
health concern to the general public worldwide. According to the World Health 
Organization, close to 1 billion people around the world are living with mental 
disorders, one person dies every 40 seconds by suicide. And now, billions of 
people have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is having a further 
impact on the general public's mental health. Among mental disorders, 
schizophrenia is associated with considerable disability; those suffering are 
2-3 times more likely to die early compared with the general population. In 
particular, people with bipolar disorder suffer from a higher suicide rate – as 
much as 20 times higher than the general population, where untreated. These 
diseases can have a serious impact, causing considerable harm to the patients, 
their families, and even to society as a whole.

The agenda of this year's conference focused primarily on schizophrenia and 
bipolar disorder. Key topics included pipeline medications for schizophrenia, 
the pros and cons of long-term antipsychotic treatment in people living with 
schizophrenia, treatment of bipolar disorders in real world practice, and 
difficulties in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with bipolar disorder 
and the corresponding solutions. All of the topics triggered lively debate 
among the attendees.   

Schizophrenia: exploring new therapeutic targets in drug development through an 
interdisciplinary approach

The participating experts discussed hot topics at the frontiers of academia and 
shared their findings in interdisciplinary areas concerning schizophrenia, 
including the potential for drug development in the fields of psychiatry and 
neurology, and the potential targets and new mechanisms of action (MoA). They 
sought to provide new ideas for psychiatrists to develop new drugs that go 
beyond the traditional Dopamine-2 receptor and 5-HT2 receptors. Regarding unmet 
needs in the treatment of schizophrenia, where there is significant potential 
for new therapies, such as in relieving negative symptoms and improving 
cognitive disorder, they examined and analyzed the therapeutic targets of new 
drugs as well as potential breakthrough therapies.    

In exchanges on interdisciplinary studies, experts offered advice to young 
psychiatrist participants that neurobiology is a frontier area worth studying 
and exploring, with much potential for new drug development, clinical diagnosis 
and treatment of mental disorders in the future.

The pros and cons of long-term antipsychotic treatment in people living with 
schizophrenia is a controversial issue in clinical practice. This topic was 
also discussed at the conference, and the corresponding treatment was 
recommended. 

Bipolar disorder: reducing missed diagnoses and misdiagnoses through the 
assessment of multiple factors

The clinical manifestations of bipolar disorder are complex and diverse – its 
clinical symptoms fluctuate significantly, and it can easily be misdiagnosed as 
other mental disorders such as major depressive disorder. The high rates of 
missed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and comorbidity, and the severe challenges 
faced in treatment, are all major problems.      

Attending experts pointed out that bipolar disorder is a chronic disease that 
can constantly switch between remission and relapse, and it therefore requires 
special attention. In designing a treatment plan, there must be a comprehensive 
assessment of multiple factors, including the symptoms and progression, the 
bipolar type, the risk of suicide, the risk of violence, the efficacy of and 
tolerance to the drug used, the patient's compliance with treatment, and the 
patient's treatment history. Furthermore, regarding specific types of bipolar 
disorder, experts recommended drugs for first-line, second-line and third-line 
treatments, and pointed out that Quetiapine is one of the treatment options for 
the full spectrum of mood disorders.

Luye Pharma: contributing to the development of the central nervous system 
therapeutic area, and providing support for physicians and patients

The Asia Pacific Psychiatry Symposium is positioned to be forward-looking, 
practical and innovative. A specialized academic platform addressing the latest 
developments in mental disorders and clinical practice, the symposium is now in 
its second year. Compared with last year, this year's successful conference saw 
increased attendee levels, covered more countries and regions, exerted greater 
influence, and attracted a higher level of professional attention.  

Luye Pharma, the conference organizer, has had a long presence in the central 
nervous system (CNS) therapeutic area. In addition to offering high-quality and 
innovative drugs, the company is also committed to providing professional 
support and services to physicians and patients. Luye Pharma hopes to make this 
conference a well-established, academic brand, to organize more academic 
exchanges and to work with CNS experts and scholars, driving the progress of 
clinical diagnosis and treatment in the field.

CNS is one of the core therapeutic areas for Luye Pharma. The company has a 
series of new drugs in the pipeline covering multiple diseases including 
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, Parkinson's disease, and 
Alzheimer's disease. Several new drugs have reached the late-clinical stage or 
the new drug application stage in countries and regions including the United 
States and Europe, and it is hoped that patients around the world will soon be 
able to benefit from them. The company has also launched several CNS drugs, 
covering over 80 countries and regions around the globe. 

Source: LUYE PHARMA