National Launch Engages Major Institutions in Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, Providence (Rhode Island), San Francisco and South Florida
TV Stars Linda Gray and Samantha Harris and Renowned Author B. Smith Join Effort
SAN FRANCISCO (Jan. 19, 2016) – Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation today announced a partnership with Internet-based Brain Health Registry, launched and led by researchers at UC San Francisco (UCSF), to grow its global registry of potential Alzheimer’s clinical trial candidates and accelerate a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. Through the partnership, Global Alzheimer’s Platform aims to add tens of thousands of new registry members by the third quarter of 2016, and learn how to most effectively grow membership as its global registry expands. The launch includes support from major medical institutions across the country, and a national public service announcement (PSA) campaign featuring TV stars Linda Gray and Samantha Harris and renowned author B. Smith.
Join the Cause
Those who wish to help in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease can register free at www.brainhealthregistry.org and help spread the word using #BeatAlzheimers.
Local Markets, Targeted Outreach
Acclaimed research institutions and medical professionals across the country are supporting the effort, working with Global Alzheimer’s Platform and the Brain Health Registry to increase the effectiveness of recruitment efforts with targeted local outreach campaigns. These include:
- Atlanta: Allan Levey, MD, PhD (Emory University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center) and Marshall L. Nash, MD (NeuroStudies.net)
- Boston: Dorene Rentz, PsyD and Gad Marshall, MD (Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Massachusetts General Hospital; Harvard Medical School)
- Las Vegas: Jeffrey Cummings, MD (Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health)
- Providence, R.I.: Stephen Salloway, MD (Alpert Medical School of Brown University; Butler Hospital)
- San Francisco: Michael Weiner, MD (UCSF)
- South Florida: Mark Brody, MD (Brain Matters Research)
Celebrities Lend Support
TV stars Linda Gray and Samantha Harris are joining the effort with a national PSA campaign aimed at encouraging people across the country to register online at www.brainhealthregistry.org. The stars, who have directly dealt with issues related to Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders, encourage healthy people, as well as those with early signs of memory loss, to do their part by enrolling in the Brain Health Registry. In addition renowned author B. Smith is also lending her support with a national PSA. Smith today released a new book, “Before I Forget,” recounting her personal, unfolding story with Alzheimer’s disease. “Before I Forget” is available at www.bsmith.com and at book retailers across the country. The PSAs will air beginning in February on TV and radio networks nationwide.
In a national PSA, B. Smith encourages people
to register online to help find a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease
Unified Effort to Find a Cure
Global Alzheimer’s Platform, headquartered in Washington, D.C., was launched in 2014 by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s and the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s disease. The organization’s goal is to reduce the duration (by up to two years), the cost and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials, and turn Alzheimer’s Disease sufferers into survivors. Executing on this vision, Global Alzheimer’s Platform is now working with multiple organizations, beginning with the Brain Health Registry, to build an integrated global clinical trial network with a pool of individuals ready, willing and able to enter clinical trials. Brain Health Registry is a free web-based effort led by researchers at UCSF designed to more quickly identify appropriate clinical trial candidates and speed the path to cures for Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders.
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Quotes “This joint effort represents exciting progress in building a faster pathway to finding a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease by 2025,” said George Vradenburg, chairman of the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation and UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. “The cost of bringing an effective Alzheimer’s treatment to market is nearly three times the industry average for drug development. Global Alzheimer’s Platform envisions not just a national, but a global pool of people and research trial sites standing ready to launch clinical trials around the world, thus greatly reducing the cost and time it takes to bring these promising treatments to market.” “We are thrilled to be working alongside the Global Alzheimer’s Platform and these great research institutions across the country in a unified effort,” said Michael Weiner, MD, professor of radiology and biomedical engineering, medicine, psychiatry and neurology at UCSF. “Together, we can help build awareness, encourage the public to enroll and join in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, helping us reach our goal of 40,000 new registrants by fall 2016.” |
- More than 500,000 people die from Alzheimer’s disease each year.
- Alzheimer’s is not just a disease of old age – 200,000 people in their 30s, 40s and 50s have early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
- 44 million people worldwide are currently living with Alzheimer's disease dementia.
- 135 million people will be living with Alzheimer's disease dementia by 2050 if aggressive and effective action isn't taken now.
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MEDIA PLEASE NOTE: To request an interview with George Vradenburg, Michael Weiner, MD, or other representatives, please contact Jennifer Golbus at (415) 359-2315 or [email protected]. |
About Global Alzheimer’s Platform
The Global Alzheimer’s Platform initiative was launched in 2014 by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s and the Global CEO Initiative (CEOi) on Alzheimer’s Disease with the vision of creating an integrated global clinical trial network to reduce the time, cost and risk of Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials, a critical factor in the pacing of efforts to speed an effective treatment of Alzheimer’s disease to those with or at risk of the disease. Global Alzheimer’s Platform, headquartered in Washington, D.C., aims to create a faster pathway to a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. It intends to do so by building a standing global clinical trial platform of willing individuals through novel web-based recruitment techniques coupled with a network of high performance clinical trial sites. Global Alzheimer’s Platform also provides an organizational framework that links prominent research institutions, the private sector and government agencies in multiple countries to fight Alzheimer’s disease. For more information, please visit www.globalalzplatform.org.
About Brain Health Registry
Brain Health Registry is a groundbreaking free, online platform designed to speed the path to cures for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, PTSD, mild cognitive impairment and other brain disorders. Brain Health Registry gathers data from volunteers who have registered and completed questionnaires and cognitive tests on the Brain Health Registry website. Brain Health Registry aims to reduce the cost of patient recruitment for clinical trials by building a large online pool of potential candidates. The registry is led by Dr. Michael Weiner, professor of radiology and biomedical engineering, medicine, psychiatry and neurology at UC San Francisco (UCSF), along with other UCSF researchers, and involves collaboration with several other top scientific institutions. For more information please visit www.brainhealthregistry.org/