MUST READS

A January 8, 2018 Wall Street Journal article (subscription) reported that "Efforts to find treatments for Alzheimer’s disease suffered blows in recent days, but many companies, scientists and investors are still optimistic that they can find a way to treat the memory-robbing disease, which affects roughly 5.5 million Americans." According to the article, "'It’s too early to give up,' said Paul Aisen, the director of the University of Southern California’s Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute in San Diego. 'We’re actually on the precipice of major advances. I would not discount all the disappointments over the years, but I believe we’re in good shape.'"

A January 8, 2018 Gates Notes blog post by Bill Gates reprinted his speech at J.P. Morgan’s 36th Annual Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, about the “possibilities that exist at the intersection of global health and the private sector.” According to Gates, “The questions driving your research agendas today in biotech and pharma—and the problems we’re trying to solve in global health—are starting to converge in exciting ways. Many of the solutions you’re working on—harnessing the immune system to tackle cancer, unraveling the mysteries of the brain to treat Alzheimer’s, and learning how bodies absorb nutrition to address the obesity epidemic and other diseases—also have clear applications in global health.”

INDUSTRY UPDATE

A January 5, 2018 Alzheimer’s News Today article reported that a Phase 1 Alzheimer’s disease clinical trial has begun for COR388. It is a bacterial protease inhibitor designed to target a specific bacteria in brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid of AD patients. According to Samer Kaba of Cortexyme, “The failure of so many large clinical trials targeting amyloid beta over the last decade illustrates the urgent need for new therapeutic targets, generated by scientifically sound hypotheses of Alzheimer’s pathogenesis [disease development], to guide development of novel and safe therapeutics.”

CAREGIVER CORNER

(ICYMI) A January 8, 2018 McKnight’s Senior Living event listing spotlighted the “Connecting Circles of Care and Bridging Bridges of Hope” Alaska cruise conference, for people with Alzheimer’s and caregivers. According to Co-Host Lisa Marie Chirico, “Attendees ‘will meet others who share many of the same joys and sorrows as they do, so there is the chance to build new friendships… Professional caregivers and residents of assisted living and memory care communities would “definitely benefit” from the workshops and sessions.” Departing Sept. 15, 2018 from Seattle. More information on the cruise here.