Press Releases

Inaugural UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Congressional Dinner to Highlight Bi-Partisan Action to End Alzheimer’s

March 8, 2017

At its first-ever Congressional dinner tonight, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s will honor Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Mark Warner (D-VA) for their deep commitment to making significant progress in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

Disappointing Merck Drug News Underscores Critical Next Steps in Alzheimer’s Fight

February 17, 2017

The recent announcement that Merck is halting a Phase II/III study for a promising Alzheimer’s treatment (verubecestat) was another setback in the continued and intensive effort to deliver an innovative therapy by 2020. UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, which works collaboratively with industry partners to see near- and long-term progress against this destructive disease, applauds the vast investment of Merck, the diligence of the many principal investigators involved in the study and the courage of the clinical trial participants, as well as their caregivers, for their deep commitment to the fight.

UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Secures Major Award to Advance Latino and African American Community-Based Alzheimer’s Priorities

February 2, 2017

WASHINGTON, DC, February 2, 2017—To address the underrepresentation of African Americans and Latinos in all aspects of neurological research, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s has launched a multi-pronged engagement strategy to build a national network of diverse researchers, patients, caregivers and stakeholder groups for collaboration and knowledge sharing around barriers, facilitators and priorities in Alzheimer’s research. The project aims to foster effective and inclusive community engagement and collaboration strategies.

UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Proud to Be a Founding Partner of Dementia Friendly America and its New Dementia Friends Initiative

January 19, 2017

WASHINGTON, DC—Dementia Friendly America (DFA), a national collaborative representing the nation’s leading Alzheimer’s organizations, companies and advocates, recently announced the U.S. launch of the Dementia Friends program, a global initiative that aims to empower and educate individuals about dementia. UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, a funding partner of DFA, is pleased to be a fervent initiator and supporter of this effort to serve the millions of people and their caregivers affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

Recent Alzheimer’s Drug Disappointment Illuminates Pathway for Progress against the Disease

January 12, 2017

Open Letter from UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Co-Founder and Chairman Specifies Initial Next Steps to Achieve Critical Advancements Toward Effective Treatments and a Cure

WASHINGTON, DC—In a letter released today by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, Co-Founder and Chairman George Vradenburg said the negative clinical trial of a once-promising Alzheimer’s drug, Solanezumab, which showed clinically insignificant ability to slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients, should be viewed not as a failure, but as a development that “provides valuable lessons and suggests a way forward in the fight against Alzheimer’s.”

Why 2020?

UsAgainstAlzheimer’s has retained its goal of stopping Alzheimer’s by 2020 rather than endorsing the goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease that calls for preventing and effectively treating the disease by 2025. While we support the national plan and its goals, we believe, as most every family touched by Alzheimer’s disease believes, that preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer's by 2025 is simply too long a wait for concrete progress. There are promising avenues of drug discovery and development that will, if successful, deliver a means of slowing or deferring Alzheimer's symptoms by 2020. By voicing the urgency felt by so many families, we will pressure researchers and industry to do all in their power to make that happen.