January 07, 2014

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

Eli Lilly to cut R&D spending by $1 billion, PBS Newshour focuses on Alzheimer's prevention, and Boston's new mayor highlights his support for Alzheimer's prevention in his inauguration speech (read more). 
 

Must reads and watch

  • A January 7, 2014 FierceBiotech article reported that drug company Eli Lilly will cut R&D spending significantly "down to between $4.4 billion and $4.7 billion--up to a billion dollars less." According to the article, "Lilly, though, will still have one of the largest shares of revenue committed to research among the top 10 biopharma companies. It's also the final big holdout in the global restructuring of R&D. After Merck finally abandoned its "everything's fine" stand in 2013, Lilly's Lechleiter remains the last pharma chief standing to insist that the company's internal innovation machine and a tradition of innovation can produce the next generation of drugs needed to preserve the company in the face of the patent cliff."
  • A January 6, 2014 PBS Newshour broadcast segment focused on the shift in Alzheimer's research from treatment to prevention through early detection. According to the article, "With no cure or successful treatment yet available, scientists are hoping to stave off Alzheimer's devastating debilitation by treating people before they show a single symptom. Jeffrey Brown reports on how researchers are looking at risk signs, lifestyle factors and alternative therapies to help keep brains healthy."
  • According to a January 6, 2014 Boston Globe transcript of Boston's new mayor Martin Walsh’s inauguration speech, Walsh is dedicated to combating Alzheimer's. According to Walsh, "And I will commit Boston to joining the Alzheimer’s Early Detection Alliance. We will release a Blueprint for Action for the city, to raise awareness through education and outreach, and to connect those with the disease to the resources they need.For me, this is personal. My grandmother and our family suffered from this disease."
  • A January 3, 2014 Newsday opinion piece by Allan Vann supported State Assemb. Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove) and U.S. Rep. Steve Israel's (D-Huntington) proposed Alzheimer's bonding initiative. According to Vann, "New York has some of the major ingredients to make an Alzheimer's bonding initiative a success. Three of the country's 29 Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers are in New York City. That concentration is coupled with proximity to other well-regarded research facilities, including Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Clinical trials with Alzheimer's patients are under way at the Feinstein Institute of North Shore-Long Island Jewish Hospital. Imagine the synergy of having New York's world-class institutions working on Alzheimer's research with sufficient funding.A bonding initiative also would provide for more programs to support those dealing with the disease, and their caregivers. Grants to local nonprofits would provide support groups and day-care programs, and more training for those who work with patients."