An Innovative Master Platform for Clinical Trials in Mood Disorders

Mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder affect over 350 million people around the world. While several effective treatments exist, it is often difficult to match the right treatment to an individual person. Repeated efforts to find the right treatment contribute to poor functioning, low quality of life, and prolongs the time it takes to get well. Most areas of medicine are able to use 'biomarkers' or clinical tests, blood tests, or imaging to help diagnose and treat illness. The search for biomarkers in mood disorders is advancing, but one roadblock to progress is the lack of large, standardized studies of mood disorders that are needed to accurately identify biomarkers. The aim of the ENABLE platform is to provide the Canadian neuroscience community a standardized way of collecting biomarker data from individuals with a range of mood disorders symptoms. In addition, this 'master clinical trial platform' framework will provide a pool of participants who can be recruited into biomarker-based clinical trials.