As September 21st marked the 20th annual World Alzheimer’s Day, the number of people living with the disease is increasing rapidly—threatening the stability of families, communities, and governments globally. Yet, research to develop reliable treatments and preventive measures has been unacceptably slow and unsuccessful for a disease that affects millions of patients and families. Increasing public and private resources dedicated to Alzheimer’s disease, enhancing the productivity of Alzheimer’s investments, and creating an innovation-friendly policy environment must be a key component of global efforts to reduce the burden of Alzheimer’s disease.
To help drive progress on Alzheimer’s research and development over the next decade, the New York Academy of Sciences is partnering with the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease (CEOi) and the U.S. National Institute on Aging/NIH to convene a new biennial summit, “Path to 2025.” Organized by a diverse group of partners, the inaugural summit will be held November 6-7, 2013 in New York. The meeting is expected to bring together more than 60 leaders in Alzheimer’s disease across sectors, representing more than eight countries.
“Alzheimer’s disease is not just an unfortunate reality of getting older; it poses a significant and grave threat to growing numbers of individuals, their families, and communities,” says New York Academy of Sciences President and CEO Ellis Rubinstein. “Together, we can develop new treatments sooner and get them to patients faster. Now is the time to build the scientific platform we need to make this goal a reality.”
Presentations and discussions at “Path to 2025” will focus on ways for public and private sector organizations to collaborate more strategically and efficiently. Participants will be encouraged to identify concrete steps to accelerate the translation of innovative ideas into treatments. For example, a major theme of the meeting will be the importance of joint product development ventures that link basic research from government and academia with the large-scale clinical trial capabilities of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.
One month before the G8 convenes its first-ever summit on dementia, “Path to 2025” will take place at a pivotal time for Alzheimer’s disease policy and funding. It is estimated that more than 35 million people worldwide are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia—a number that is expected to double every 20 years as the population ages. As a result, health systems and societies will be severely strained by the cost of care. In fact, in 2010 the worldwide costs of dementia were estimated at more than $600 billion.
WHAT: Alzheimer’s Disease Summit: The Path to 2025
WHEN: November 6-7, 2013
WHERE: The New York Academy of Sciences
7 World Trade Center
250 Greenwich Street, 40th floor
New York, NY 10007-2157
SPEAKERS: Key speakers confirmed for “Path to 2025” include:
- Christopher P. Austin, M.D., National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
- Martha Brumfield, Ph.D., Critical Path Institute
- Maria C. Carrillo, Ph.D., Alzheimer’s Association
- Howard Feldman, M.D., F.R.C.P.(C), University of British Columbia
- Maria Freire, Ph.D., Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
- Michel Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., Innovative Medicines Initiative
- Yuko Harayama, Ph.D., Council for Science and Technology Policy, Cabinet Office
- Richard J. Hodes, M.D., National Institute on Aging/NIH
- Michael Krams, M.D., Janssen Pharmaceuticals
- Freda C. Lewis-Hall, M.D., Pfizer
- Simon Lovestone, B.M., Ph.D., King’s College London
- Jan M. Lundberg, Ph.D., Eli Lilly and Company
- Jeffrey S. Nye, M.D., Ph.D., Janssen R&D
- Ronald C. Petersen, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic
- Stanley Prusiner, M.D., University of California, San Francisco
- Elettra Ronchi, Ph.D., Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Ellis Rubinstein, New York Academy of Sciences
- Reisa A. Sperling, M.D., M.MSc., Harvard Medical School
- John Q. Trojanowski, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
- George Vradenburg, The Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease
- Bengt Winblad, M.D., Ph.D., Karolinska Institutet
For additional information on the summit, or to register to attend, please visit www.nyas.org/PathTo2025