Alzheimer’s is a complex and frustrating disease that robs people of their memories and families of their loved ones.
Leading Experts Assess the Current State of Alzheimer’s Disease Therapeutic Development
Published September 16, 2015
North Bethesda, Md., September 16, 2015 – Today the ACT-AD (Accelerate Cure/Treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease) Coalition of more than 50 nonprofit organizations representing patients, family caregivers, and scientists held its eighth annual meeting in North Bethesda, Md., with representatives from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the current state of Alzheimer’s disease therapeutic development.
This year’s meeting, centered on the theme of Assessing the Scientific Foundation for Alzheimer’s Disease Therapeutic Development, focused on what researchers need to do to improve prospects for Alzheimer’s disease treatment and prevention trials.
“At this year’s meeting, we took a ‘back-to-basics’ approach in our central discussions on Alzheimer’s disease,” says ACT-AD Executive Director Cynthia Bens. “As the FDA pointed out in a report released this summer, basic information about the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and pathways to slow its progression is still lacking, despite the large amount of research dedicated to AD. This meeting gave stakeholders opportunities to frankly discuss what more can be done to improve the prospects for treatment of the disease.”
At the meeting, discussion revolved around examination of lessons from pioneering studies that incorporated Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers and surrogate endpoints and exploration of how genetics and processes like neuroprotection, immunity, metabolism, and inflammation are changing the conceptualization of Alzheimer’s disease.
The meeting featured the following expert presentations:
- What Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials have revealed
Rachelle Doody, M.D., Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine - Changing conceptualization of Alzheimer’s disease
George Perry, Ph.D., The University of Texas San Antonio - What we are learning about Alzheimer’s disease genetics
Bryan Traynor, M.D., Ph.D., MMSc, MRCPI, National Institute on Aging
The meeting also included a panel of experts who discussed scientific and regulatory considerations for advancing pre-clinical Alzheimer’s disease therapeutic development.
ACT-AD and its partners will provide a more detailed summary of the results of today’s meeting at a future date. For more information, please visit the coalition’s website or call 202-293-2856.
About ACT-AD
ACT-AD is a coalition of more than 50 national organizations representing patients, providers, caregivers, consumers, older Americans, researchers, and employers seeking to accelerate development of potential cures and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. The coalition is directed by an Advisory Council made up of representatives from the Alliance for Aging Research (AAR), Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA), American Society on Aging (ASA), National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC), National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), National Consumers League (NCL), Research!America, and the Society for Women’s Health Research. The coalition is sponsored in part by Avanir, Anavex, Biogen Idec, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Merck, and Novartis.
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