Early Intervention
by LillyPad 07/25/16
Today’s guest blog is from Phyllis Ferrell, Lilly’s Vice President, Global Alzheimer’s Disease Platform Team.
In January the Powerball jackpot blew past 1.5 billion dollars. It was the largest jackpot in US history and the sum fueled the dreams of millions across the country. Now take that 1.5 billion and multiply it by 157 (and change). That gets you to about 236 billion dollars. It’s enough money to give every one of the approximately 320 million people in the US more than 700 dollars and still have money left over. These are big numbers.
What does 236 billion dollars represent? The total estimated direct cost in 2016 to the country of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The largest lotto jackpot in US history would barely make a dent to the financial impact Alzheimer’s is taking on our economy.
Fortunately, there is hope on the horizon. As I said earlier this week, we are at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference meeting with the best minds working on this puzzle.
After more than a century of learning, we are likely on the cusp of a new generation of treatments and therapies aimed at earlier stages of Alzheimer’s. Even if these potential therapies prove effective, will diagnosis for most patients happen early enough for this potential new era of medicines to make a real impact against this devastating disease? We’ve identified a number of actions that can help.
Here are our five key policy recommendations:
Access to testing and diagnostics. The more people know about Alzheimer’s, the more likely they are to take action. When Americans do go to their doctors, access to cognitive assessment tests and coverage for advanced diagnostics through all forms of health insurance is essential.
Match policy to the science. We should optimize development and regulatory review to speed the availability of the next generation of treatments.
Educating providers. Too often, providers are unaware of new advancements or they aren’t available in a primary care setting.
Expand access to clinical trials, especially for early Alzheimer’s. Clinical trials, especially in Alzheimer’s, can take a very long time to run and are expensive but remain essential to completing the research that will deliver new therapies. The process to find participants is often double the time to run the study itself. Clinical trial efficiency could be improved by establishing a body of clinical trial-ready sites and national institutional review boards.
Reward innovation. When a team of researchers takes risks, even if there are setbacks, and spends decades developing new treatments, we need to ensure that innovation is rewarded. It’s important to remember that while public funding is essential, over 90% of investment in Alzheimer’s research happens in the private sector.
The next few years of this movement are critical in reaching our goal, but I believe we can achieve them. We can beat this together with the right mix of innovation in the lab and policy changes in Washington, DC and state houses around the country.
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