Developing treatments for neurological diseases present a huge challenge for neuroscience companies within the biotech industry. The central nervous system (CNS) is extremely complex and many neurological diseases can be difficult to treat due to the limited regenerative capacity of the CNS, and the fact that the blood-brain barrier – a specialized system of cells that blocks harmful substances from entering the brain – prevents most drugs from reaching the brain tissue.
According to a 2022 report from the World Health Organization (WHO), disorders of the nervous system are the second leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 9 million deaths per year. A big reason for this is that currently available therapies for neurological disorders are largely limited to the treatment of symptoms, rather than the treatment of the disease itself, signaling an unmet medical need for disorders of this type.
Although in recent years big pharma has been seen to pull away from investments in neurosciences research, there are still several biotechs attempting to take on the challenge of developing treatments for a variety of neurological disorders. Here, listed in alphabetical order, are nine of the top neuroscience companies around today.
