Curing Alzheimer’s: the Grand Challenge for the Next Administration

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UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Urges Executive and Congressional Action in the First 100 Days and Beyond

WASHINGTON, DC, November 10, 2016—As the United States turns its attention to forging constructive transitions in the executive and legislative branches, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s (UsA2) calls upon the newly elected Administration and Congress to shepherd in an era that finally addresses the serious national priority that is Alzheimer’s and related dementias, and takes immediate action to increase Alzheimer’s research funding and to support patients and caregivers.

As an organization committed to urgency and the disruption of business-as-usual in order to speed a means of prevention and effective treatment for Alzheimer’s, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s welcomes President-elect Donald Trump as a fellow fighter touched by this critical disease, a disease which is impacting millions of people with dementia, their families and caregivers, as well as researchers, advocates and industry.

“This is the Alzheimer’s moment; the time to see Alzheimer’s as an urgent threat to the health of Americans and a hazard to the financial security of our country,” said UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Co-Founder and Chairman George Vradenburg. “We challenge President-elect Trump to make Alzheimer’s his Administration’s Grand Challenge. Alzheimer’s is a tsunami we are fighting with a bucket. This Challenge requires greater focus, scaled resources and a public-private commitment to a cure.”

Alzheimer’s disease is currently the third-leading cause of death in the United States, and the incidence of the disease is projected to triple by 2050. The disease, which is the only top 10 cause of death with no means to prevent, treat or cure, also has a disproportionate impact on people of color and women, the latter of whom represents nearly 70% of the unpaid caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

To remedy this reality and see true medical progress against Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s is calling for President-elect Trump to enact the following during his first 100 days in office:

  • Include $2 billion for Alzheimer’s disease research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the Fiscal Year 2018 budget.
  • Establish a White-House level Office of the National Alzheimer’s Response responsible for overseeing and managing all U.S. government activities to address Alzheimer’s.
  • Assert International Leadership in the Global Fight Against Alzheimer’s. Other countries of the world are expecting the next Administration to grab the leadership reins and take the global fight to the next level of action and energy.

Further, as a blueprint to build on the progress and commitment established in the Administration’s first 100 days, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s has developed a comprehensive agenda, which will be critical to achieving milestone moments on the path to cure.

Below are several significant legislative priorities:

  • Recognize that this disease is a cancer-sized problem requiring a cancer-sized response by developing a plan to sustain and build on the $2 billion for Alzheimer's research in the years beyond 2018. This would require maintaining a steady growth year-over-year to reflect the scope and scale of the disease and the scientific opportunity for faster cures.
  • Further focus on high-risk/high reward research, which has the potential to rapidly transform Alzheimer’s treatments.
  • Seek solutions designed to reduce the time and cost it takes to develop Alzheimer’s therapies. The cost of developing innovative Alzheimer’s medicines already exceeds a dozen years and more than $1.5 billion on average.
  • Increase participation in clinical trials, particularly among minorities and women, so that researchers can better understand the barriers and gaps in Alzheimer’s clinical research in America’s increasingly diverse population.
  • Support prompt access to new therapies, once approved, by developing new payment models that take account of the societal costs of this disease and incent industry investment in innovative treatments.
  • Increase the rate of early diagnosis and detection of Alzheimer’s and improve the delivery of care of patients, in part, by increasing the number of clinicians who are able to conduct evaluations and who are adequately reimbursed for such services.
  • Support caregivers who are likely to be affected physically, emotionally and financially from a diagnosis, by creating a Medicare benefit that will provide interventions that maximize the ability of the family caregiver to keep their beneficiary at home and limit and delay use of the more expensive institutional care setting.  

 “While our country and the world are processing the results of these elections, I issue the reminder that the importance of our work, and the urgency surrounding it, stands before us demanding our attention,” said Trish Vradenburg, Co-Founder and Vice-Chair of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. “For the millions with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers, we need bi-partisan action now, as the first disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer’s will likely occur during this Administration. This disease is neither a Republican nor a Democrat disease; it is an American disease – one that demands a response from both parties.”

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UsAgainstAlzheimer’s (UsA2) is an innovative non-profit organization demanding – and delivering – a solution to Alzheimer’s. Driven by the suffering of millions of families, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s presses for greater urgency from government, industry and the scientific community in the quest for an Alzheimer's cure – accomplishing this through effective leadership, collaborative advocacy, and strategic investments.

Founded in 2010, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s has worked across sectors to: (1) secure the national goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025 and help secure nearly $500 million in additional public funding for Alzheimer’s research over the past few years; (2) drive global efforts that resulted in the leaders of the world’s most powerful nations, the G7 group, to embrace a similar 2025 goal and to call for greater levels of research investment and collaboration; and (3) forge industry commitments to improve efficiencies for an expedited drug discovery and approval process.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tim Tassa
Phone: 202-263-2580
Email: [email protected]