PRISM 2 addresses the treatment needs of the three most prevalent brain disorders in Europe, i.e. schizophrenia (SZ), Alzheimer’s (AD), and major depressive disorders (MDD). The economic burden of these three disorders is huge, collectively estimated to cost over € 300 billion per year. Most of these costs are indirect (lack of productivity). Social withdrawal is an important source of indirect cost and has been identified as one of the main reasons for health-related disability benefit claims in the UK (UK Department of Work and Pensions Annual Report, 2012). PRISM 2 has a massive potential to significantly alter future clinical decision-making as it will transcend the traditional domains of neurology and psychiatry and significantly impact on pharma R&D by providing a reliable route from preclinical results to patient outcomes.
The project will bridge the important translation gap between discovery and the validation of biomarkers and their associated technologies. The PRISM 2 consortium will establish that quantitative biological parameters can be used to effectively stratify patients using biomarkers for social dysfunction. Thereby, it will help establish in the consciousness of patients and the general public that psychiatric disorders are “real” in the sense of having a biomedical substrate similar to other physical illnesses reducing the stigma associated with mental disorders.
The objective of WP6 is the development of a communication strategy and dissemination plan based on Open Science principles and tailored to the different target groups of PRISM 2, namely scientists, clinicians (medical community), pharmaceutical industry, CROs, patients and their families, and regulatory agencies (e.g. EMA).
