An Oxford University professor has called for increased investment in the development of mental illness treatments.

A global authority in this field, Professor Husseini Manji and his team recently won the 2023 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health for their development of esketamine, an innovative nasal spray antidepressant.

Speaking at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology 2023 Annual Meeting, Professor Manji expressed his ambition to discover new treatments for serious conditions like psychiatric ailments and pain-related diseases.

This work is essential, as effective treatments are currently scarce.

A key focus in accomplishing these goals is the National Institute for Health and Care Research's (NIHR) Mental Health Mission (MHM), a division of the UK government’s life science vision.

The MHM is dedicated to increasing capacity in mental health research and providing sustainable and research-ready environments to support the needed pace and scale of mental health research.

Its priorities include capacity development and training, data and digital, alongside focus on various mental health conditions such as children's mental health, early psychosis and mood disorder.

Its activities will address barriers in research, support new industrial partnerships and enable treatment testing and trialling across the UK.

The £42m funding for this mission was approved by the Department for Health and Social Care and a significant portion will be allocated to Birmingham and Liverpool to boost mental health research capacities regionally and enhance patient access to clinical trials.