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With a rapidly ageing population and a lack of both diagnostic tools and effective treatments, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a growing public health and societal concern worldwide. Its impact on patients, their families and carers is devastating.
 
One sector cannot win the fight against Alzheimer’s alone. Finding ways to treat, slow or prevent the disease requires collaboration, partnership and novel approaches. This is why a number of EFPIA member companies have joined forces in the EFPIA Alzheimer’s disease Platform. The Platform’s aim is simple: 

To ensure a brighter today and tomorrow for people with Alzheimer’s disease



What is unique about Alzheimer’s disease


#WeWontRest until we find a way to slow or prevent Alzheimer's disease from robbing people of their memories, their relationships and their lives

AD progresses in stages, with a long silent phase starting before its symptoms appear. Currently approved treatments help to alleviate some of the symptoms but there are no disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that modify the disease, reverse or slow down its effects. Disease-modifying therapies would allow patients to live an independent life for longer, and maintain their cognitive capabilities and personality, leaving them more time with their friends and family.

The research community has traversed numerous frustrating setbacks over the past few years, which explains the long wait for a disease-modifying treatment. However, the history of Alzheimer’s Disease is a story of perseverance, commitment and hope. The industry’s dedication to finding a cure can be evidenced by the continued unfaltering drug development pipeline. In early 2020, there were 136 trials investigating AD therapies which have the potential to significantly reduce the burden on affected people living with the disease, their carers, and healthcare systems across Europe [3].


You can find out more about individuals commitment to tackling Alzheimer’s disease here.


 

It is time for European healthcare systems to prepare for Alzheimer’s breakthroughs

No organisation can address the challenges related to Alzheimer’s disease in isolation. As we have highlighted in the paper "Taking Action Together to Ensure a Better Today and Tomorrow for People with Alzheimer’s Disease", patients can only benefit from advances in treatment if healthcare systems are appropriately equipped to enable patient access to innovation along the whole of the disease pathway.

We are at a turning point in our fight against Alzheimer’s Disease. Long-awaited new therapies are on the horizon. The introduction of upcoming disease modifying therapies would have the potential to change the lives of both patients and carers and to substantially reduce the societal and economic burden of the disease.

For people living with dementia, their carers, and society to benefit from these innovations, clinical practice will have to transform and adapt. Healthcare systems in Europe currently lack the capacity to detect early, diagnose and treat AD effectively, hindering the ability to rapidly move a disease modifying therapy (DMT) for AD from approval into widespread clinical use. This could leave a large number of patients without access to transformative care when a DMT reaches the market.

To ensure we translate these breakthroughs into results for patients, Europe must prepare.

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IMI & IHI Alzheimer’s disease-related projects

IMI and IHI Alzheimer’s disease projects have advanced understanding of Alzheimer’s pathology and progression, generated new tools and platforms for early detection and monitoring, supported more precise trial methodologies, and are building digital systems to personalise and improve diagnosis and care.

Together they strengthen the ecosystem for Alzheimer’s research and accelerate progress toward earlier intervention, meaningful biomarkers, better clinical trial design, and real-world use of innovative treatments. 

Across IMI and IHI projects, the key contributions include:

  • Enhanced biological knowledge of Alzheimer’s pathology and novel biomarkers for earlier and more precise detection.
  • Improved early diagnosis and prediction systems that can identify individuals before severe symptoms manifest.
  • Real-world digital monitoring and functional endpoints that capture the lived impact of disease.
  • Decision support platforms that integrate data to personalise care and inform clinical choices.
  • Tools and infrastructure that strengthen clinical research and reduce barriers to effective therapeutic development.

Together, these efforts help build a more integrated, patient-centred and data-driven ecosystem for Alzheimer’s research, diagnosis, care and therapeutic innovation in Europe — accelerating progress toward earlier detection, better interventions and tangible improvements in patient outcomes.

More information on these projects can be found on the IHI website here.

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[1]  Alzheimer Europe, Cost of illness and burden of dementia in Europe – Prognosis to 2030, www.alzheimer-europe.org/Research/European-Collaboration-onDementia/Cost-of-dementia/Prognosis-to-2030 
[2] Alzheimer Europe, Dementia in Europe, Yearbook 2019, https://www.alzheimer-europe.org/Publications/Dementia-in-Europe-Yearbooks 
[3] Cummings et al. Alzheimer’s Disease Drug Development pipeline: 2020, Alzheimer’s Dement. 2020;6:e12050

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