A UK biotech company is developing a fast-acting anxiety treatment that could avoid the side-effects and abuse risks of current drugs like benzodiazepines and SSRIs. This matters because anxiety disorders are the leading cause of disability in the UK, costing the economy at least £118 billion annually. Current treatments have serious drawbacks: over 70% of patients experience side-effects, benzodiazepines carry high abuse potential and tolerance risk, and SSRIs take weeks to work. There is no widely available treatment that is both rapid and safe. If Kadence Bio’s treatment succeeds, it could offer symptom relief within hours rather than weeks, with fewer pills and lower risk of dependence. For the estimated 500 million patients worldwide with anxiety or depression, this would mean a practical alternative to existing medications. For the NHS and UK economy, it could reduce the growing burden of mental health-related disability and lost productivity. The treatment is designed for acute use—managing sudden episodes of anxiety—rather than as a long-term daily medication.
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Kadence Bio (Kadence) is a UK-based biotech SME. Mental health issues are the leading cause of disability in the UK, accounting for up to 22.8% of the total associated economic burden. In 2022, approximately one in six UK adults reported experiencing a common mental health problem during any given week, with anxiety levels in the UK reaching their highest during the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK economy is losing at least £118B annually due to mental health problems. Without better treatments, the financial costs to society will continue to rise as more people report mental health struggles. Current acute anxiety treatments such as benzodiazepines and antidepressant SSRIs come with undesirable side-effects and delayed therapeutic responses. \>70% of patients receiving current standard-of-care (e.g. SSRIs/benzodiazepines) experience side-effects. Benzodiazepines are associated with high abuse potential and risk of tolerance, and antidepressant SSRIs exhibit delayed onset of action, requiring several weeks of exposure to impart a therapeutic effect. There remains a need for a rapidly effective, well-tolerated treatment for anxiety disorders. To address this challenge, Kadence is developing a novel treatment for anxiety disorders that is fast-acting, effective, safe and well-tolerated. Kadence aims to develop such a treatment for the acute treatment of anxiety without abuse liability, improving patient outcomes and reducing the socio-economic burden of anxiety. Kadence's innovation, as compared to current treatments like benzodiazepines and antidepressant SSRIs, promises faster symptom relief, a lower risk of side-effects, fewer pills to take and ultimately better affordability, benefitting up to 500M patients worldwide suffering with anxiety and depression.
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