With the exception of Alzheimer’s disease and perhaps schizophrenia, the pharmaceutical industry in 2010 made a rapid and remarkable shift away from research and development in the neuroscience therapeutic area. While some companies continue to have strong neuroscience research and development programs, others have all but abandoned this area of research. Moreover, while small biotech remains active in pursuit of novel targets, the pipeline for new medications in general seems to have entered a fallow period. This presentation explicates the hard problems that face pediatric and adult drug development in the next decade and outlines approaches that may de-risk this process. At the conclusion of the presentation, participants have a better understanding of the rapidly changing landscape of pediatric and adult drug development in a way that hopefully facilitates intelligent participation as an advocate for pediatric psychopharmacology.