How can we match the brightest minds in science and finance to transform mental health treatments?

We are seeing exciting advances in mental health treatments based on cutting-edge science with the potential to transform the lives of those that need them most.

In September 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first new pharmacological approach to treating schizophrenia in more than 50 years. It works in a completely different way from other currently used schizophrenia drugs.

The following month, researchers in the UK published major results from Avatar therapy. This pioneering new digital treatment could be life changing for people who hear voices, also known as auditory hallucinations. The results showed that the therapy can reduce the voices heard by an individual, and the distress these voices can cause.

There have also been several advances in treating depression over the past year. Fast-acting neurosteroid-based treatments have recently been licensed that could transform the lives of new mothers struggling with postpartum depression. And the first prescription digital treatment for major depressive disorder symptoms was approved by the FDA just last year. Meanwhile, research from a UK study found that a device that delivers direct stimulation to the brain is a safe and effective way of treating depression at home.

New social interventions are also being developed and embedded into communities globally. The evidence-based Friendship Bench approach developed in Zimbabwe, for instance, trains grandmothers to treat anxiety and depression. Its success has led to the approach being replicated in countries around the world.

These and many other examples show that a real revolution in how we think about mental health treatments is underway. This revolution is rooted in science, with new advances developed by, and with, those with lived experience of mental health problems.

But significant challenges remain when it comes to getting these new and improved interventions to those who need them. Perhaps most pressing is an annual financing gap of more than $200 billion from government spend on mental health around the world, according to NGO United for Global Health.

How can we best support the revolution in mental health treatments and make sure that they are scaled up in an equitable way to help people around the world? One of the most practical solutions is to connect mental health innovators with investors from the public, private and philanthropic sectors.

As one of the largest non-governmental funders of research in the world, Wellcome recently co-founded the Coalition for Mental Health Investment (CMHI), alongside our partners the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance, Clinton Global Initiative, Kokoro and McKinsey Health Institute. We will convene experts and funders to drive investment in mental health, leveraging cutting-edge evidence in science and finance to find new and innovative ways to bridge profit, risk and equity.

By encouraging promising new interventions, collaborations like this will help people lead the lives they wish to lead. This includes helping them to enjoy happy, healthy and productive lives that, in turn, benefit wider society.

The value of the global mental health market reached $419 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $500 billion by 2028. In 2021, nine mental health start-ups reached unicorn status by achieving valuations of more than $1 billion. The private sector is increasingly waking up to the value of the market for mental health as an integral part of the wider health market.

While this is encouraging, to make a real difference in mental health, we need the private, philanthropic and public sectors to join forces and work together to accelerate new accessible and widely available treatments for mental health through innovative financing.

The Innovations in Mental Health Fund that was recently launched in the UK, for example, will support early-stage companies to test, validate and scale digital mental health products. It was launched by KHP Ventures with Wellcome as an anchor investor and it partners with the UK’s largest mental health NHS Trust. The fund will run an immersive programme, giving these companies access to resources, expertise and mentorship from across the mental health sector.

Despite the negative headlines we often read when it comes to mental health, I am truly optimistic about what the future holds for new and improved mental health treatments. These solutions can be delivered at scale and in an equitable way to provide tailored support for everyone.

We are seeing exciting results through science. Now is the time to make connections between scientists and those with the vision to invest in the future of mental health. This year’s World Economic Forum, with its focus on the Intelligent Age, is the perfect time to discuss how backing collaborative innovation can lead to better mental health around the world.