Europe is at a crossroads. Mental health conditions now cause more years of ill-health than cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease combined, yet psychiatric innovation has stagnated, leaving patients dependent on treatments first developed half a century ago. This neglect is not only a public health failure but also a competitiveness challenge, as Europe falls behind the US and China in life sciences investment and clinical innovation. This event will explore how Europe can move from leading to lagging in mental health innovation.
With the right policies, Europe can close the innovation gap and ensure that patients gain timely access to new treatments. A mental health “moonshot” and a coordinated EU Mental Health Strategy should mobilise funding, set ambitious goals, and provide long-term direction. Stronger incentives for high-risk and cross-sector research are needed to unlock breakthroughs where market forces alone have failed. The modernisation of regulatory frameworks must ensure that innovative combination therapies can be properly evaluated. And greater investment in infrastructure and workforce capacity is essential so that health systems are ready to deliver the next generation of treatments.
The use of novel tools such as regulatory sandboxes, to be introduced in the EU pharma reform, can enhance the responsible translation of science into care. By allowing controlled, real-world testing of innovative treatments, sandboxes can both generate crucial evidence for regulators and payers and provide safe, early access for patients. Psychedelic therapies, now in late-stage development, provide an ideal test case for how sandboxes can help bridge the gap between clinical trials and health system integration.
By taking decisive action, Europe can elevate mental health as a driver of innovation and competitiveness and turn today’s crisis into tomorrow’s success story.