Good Day BIO: Mental illness awareness

Treating mental illness requires awareness—the impetus for Mental Health Awareness Week—as well as efforts from biotech. In a sign of the times, Shell is reportedly planning to replace an old oil refinery with a biorefinery making SAFs. (664 words, 3 minutes, 19 seconds)

Awareness, and biotech, can counter mental illness

The pandemic drove huge increases in levels of stress and depression, but COVID-19, once the biggest source of anxiety in the U.S., has been replaced by rising prices, according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA).

A poll of anxieties plaguing American adults in August finds inflation worried 85% of them, gun violence worried 70%, climate change worried 60%, future reproductive rights worried 56%, and COVID-19 worried 55%, APA reports.

Anxiety takes a toll, and nearly one in five U.S. adults—52.9 million in 2020—live with a mental illness, says the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Among the younger cohort, 56% of Americans aged 11-13 who were examined reported regular suicidal thoughts, according to Bio.News.

Recognizing the problem is essential to treating it, which is why we need to get past the stigma of mental illness and discuss it openly, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). That’s the idea behind NAMI’s Mental Illness Awareness Week campaign, which shares the experiences of people who have dealt with mental illness with the theme “What I Wish I Had Known.”

Biotech addresses mental illness through the development of medications, with some of the most common being antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, stimulants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers, says NIMH. Other biotech solutions for mental health include innovative treatments forstress. And psychedelics such as DMT, psilocybin, MDMA, and LSD are being developed as treatments for a variety of mental problems such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The pharmaceutical industry can do moreto address serious mental illness, with the help of policy changes, including grants, longer periods of exclusivity for new treatments, and more health system resources, says a study from the Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health (CEVR) of the Tufts Medical Center.

Shell plans $1.48B biorefinery for biodiesel and SAF

In what would be a major transition toward sustainability, Shell is planning to build a $1.48 billion biorefinery in Louisiana on the site of a former refinery for fossil fuels, says a report in the Houston Chronicle last week.

Biodiesel and SAF: In its first phase, the site would produce biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from plant oils, animal fats, and used cooking oils, the Chronicle said. It would be part of plans by Shell to invest as much as $10 billion in the Gulf Coast region to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable fuels, according to the Chronicle.

Producing SAF at scale, and increasing faith in a robust supply chain, is essential to bringing down the price of the fuel, according to Investment Monitor. That’s important because SAFs could lower emissions by up to 80% compared to conventional jet fuel.

Building demand is another part of the challenge, and Shell is partnering in a strategy to do that through Avelia, a blockchain solution that allows airlines and their customers to keep track of exactly how much of their flying is done with SAFs.

Other companies, like BIO member Gevo, have been helping build acceptance and a strong supply chain for SAFs by increasing the number of airline flights using the fuel. Gevo recently signed deals with America Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Air Lingus as part of a plan to sell up to 200 million gallons of SAF per year to 14 airlines in the oneworld global alliance.

The U.S. Government is also advancing the effort, with a multi-agency SAF Grand Challenge that seeks to make 3 billion gallons of SAF available annually by 2030 through initiatives in areas like promoting innovation and supply chain development.

President Biden’s Monday: Touring Puerto Rico to survey damage from Hurricane Fiona. On FridayBiden signed the 10-week stopgap spending bill, which includes a bare-bones FDA user fee agreement.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The House and Senate are in recess.