REPORT: MORE THAN 100 MENTAL ILLNESS DRUGS IN WORKS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 100 different drugs, including a
batch of new products aimed at combating drug and alcohol use, are in
the pipeline for mental illness, a drug industry group said on Monday.

A quarter of the drugs, 26, target depression alone, the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) said in a
report.

``This year, pharmaceutical companies will spend an estimated $6
billion to discover and develop medicines for diseases of the central
nervous system, including mental illnesses,'' Alan Holmer, president
of PhRMA, said in a statement.

Researchers agree that drug addiction is a physical illness, not a
weakness of will or lack of moral character, and the industry and
government researchers are targeting the potential treatment market.

Drugs being tested include British-based Cantab Pharmaceutical's
(CTB.L) cocaine vaccine, in early safety testing, and five drugs being
tested under the auspices of the National Institute on Drug Abuse for
use against cocaine dependence -- desipramine, disulfiram, GBR 12909,
NS 2359, and selegiline, originally developed for use against
Parkinson's disease.

NIDA is also testing drugs for opiate addiction, including
mecamylamine, lofexidine and buprenorphine.

Depression, which affects an estimated 19 million Americans, is
another big market. Many of the drugs affect levels of serotonin, an
important neurotransmitter, or message-carrying hormone, linked with
mood.

The success of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
such as Eli Lilly and Co.'s (NYSE:LLY - news) Prozac, known
generically as fluoxetine, has encouraged companies to continue to
develop similar drugs, including Lilly's duloxetine and Solvay
Pharmaceutical's (SOLBt.BR) fluvoxamine.

Sanofi-Synthelabo (SASY.PA) is investigating the potential of a
reversible monoamine oxidase inhibitor called befloxatone. Monoamine
oxidase breaks down serotonin, so inhibitors of the enzyme make more
serotonin available.

For Alzheimer's, which affects 4 million Americans and 22 million
people worldwide, more than a dozen new drugs are in development,
including Sigma-Tau pharmaceuticals' ALCAR, or acetyl-l-carnitine, and
a vaccine called AN-1792 being developed jointly by American Home
Products Corp. (NYSE:AHP - news) and Elan Corp Plc (NYSE:ELN - news)
(ELN.I) (ELA.L).

It targets the amyloid plaques that mark the incurable brain
illness.

Novartis (NOVZn.S) is in Phase II safety and efficacy trials with NDD
094, which may regrow brain cells that produce acetycholine, a
neurotransmitter involved in memory.

One group of drugs, the cannabinoid receptor antagonists, are building
on research that examined the effects of marijuana on the brain.
Sanofi-Synthelabo is testing SR 141716 against Alzheimer's, obesity
and schizophrenia, which affects two million Americans.

Research in animals has shown that anandamide, a chemical similar to
cannabis, puts the brakes on dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated
with schizophrenia.

Uncontrolled production of dopamine is blamed for some of the symptoms
of schizophrenia. A lack of dopamine is blamed for the shaking and
motor hesitation that marks Parkinson's disease.