Schizophrenia is a disabling pathology with a lifetime prevalence of approximately 1% worldwide and the etio-pathological mechanism(s) remain elusive. New therapies are also needed for the cognitive and negative symptoms of the disease which appear central to functional outcomes and yet poorly served by current therapies. The interesting topic issue Dopaminergic alterations in schizophrenia co-edited by S Gatti-McArthur, Andrew Grottick PM Llorca, JC Martel, Carol Tamminga, and Mark Tricklebank is now completed. A final editorial introduces the 10 outstanding contributions and provides a synthesis of the current knowledge regarding dopaminergic alterations in schizophrenia. The issue is the result of the collaboration of 3 participating journals Frontiers in Pharmacology (neuropharmacology section), Frontiers in Neuroscience (Neuropharmacology section), and Frontiers in Psychiatry (schizophrenia section). Few recent related issues have also appeared in the same journals and are reviewed in the editorial. They provide an important complement to this read and highlight specific areas of scientific progress.

McArthur and Associates is very pleased to welcome the addition of Dr Daniel Umbricht as an associate. Dr Umbricht received his MD at the University of Zürich, trained in general psychiatry at the Zucker Hillside Hospital in New York and specialized in clinical schizophrenia research. Dr Umbricht has held various senior and global positions at Novartis and Roche in Basel where he excelled in translational medicine, specifically neuropsychological and neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr Umbricht’s presence in McArthur and Associates GmbH significantly allows us to extend our range of specialized neuropharmacological consulting services to include early clinical development and translational medicine.

McArthur and Associates is very pleased to welcome John Van Drie’s specialised experience applying in silico tools to structure-based drug discovery. Following graduate work at the California Institute of Technology, a fellowship at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. John has worked closely within the biopharmaceutical industry, academic groups and venture capitalists. 

 He has worked with Novartis both in Basel, Switzerland and was the director of the CADD group at Novartis in Cambridge MA. As a senior scientist in drug discovery, John has contributed to the oxazolidinone antibiotic research team at Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston MA as well at Pharmacia and Upjohn in Kalamazoo, MI. John was a member of the research team that discovered Abbott’s ritonavir, the first marketed HIV protease inhibitor for AIDS infections. He was a founding member of BioCad in Sunnyvale CA where he contributed to the development of the novel drug design software, Catalyst, which has since been marketed by Accelrys.

 His diverse industrial experience has enabled him to discover and co-invent novel molecular intellectual property and to help academic groups looking to turn their intellectual property into a form suitable for forming the basis of a startup. Further, John has worked closely with investors looking to invest in novel computational technology as well as novel drug discovery technology. His joining McArthur and Associates significantly expands our range of consulting services that we can offer to the biopharmaceutical industry and related investors.

McArthur and Associates GmbH is happy to announce the recent addition of the biopharma strategic advisor,  Dr Véronique Foutel to our Team.  Dr Foutel brings with her extensive drug marketing and pricing experience. She has held various appointments with French pharmacovigilance and regulatory authorities, led global strategic functions within the Roche Pharma Division for 16 years, and is presently an executive committee member of a late-stage clinical biotech. Dr. Foutel’s academic qualifications include a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, a graduate of the Stockholm School of Economics specializing in health economics, and the London Business School’s Roche executive leadership programme. Her expertise allows McArthur and Associates GmbH to offer services in strategic access planning, target profiling, value development, pricing, and interactions with EU and French regulatory bodies, Key opinion Leaders and payers.

McArthur and Associates GmbH is happy to announce that our Partner and Managing Director, Dr. Silvia Gatti-McArthur, has successfully completed the Diploma of Advanced Studies in Pharmaceutical Medicine course at the European Center of Pharmaceutical Medicine, University of Basel. The ECPM is a highly prestigious Institution providing continuing professional development within the pharmaceutical industry and associated professions. https://ecpm.unibas.ch/continuing-education/postgraduate-courses/diploma-cou