Alzheimer’s treatment drive gets under way

The Drug Discovery project will test therapies already in use for other conditions which could quickly be adapted.

Six drugs identified are being fast-tracked for new studies. Clinical trials will then be held across the UK to see if they can help patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

It is hoped the programme will lead to treatments that provide benefits lasting five times longer than currently available drugs. They may also delay onset of the condition in at-risk patients.

Scientists from the Alzheimer’s Society will test the first three drugs over a five to 10-year period at a cost of £15m.

In comparison, it typically costs more than £600m over a period of 20 years to deliver an effective treatment from scratch.

Alzheimer’s Society chief executive Jeremy Hughes said: “This is an exciting day in the race to find new treatments and eventually a cure for people with dementia. There are not enough clinical trials for dementia happening in the UK which is why Alzheimer’s Society is responding by launching Drug Discovery. We need £4,000 every day for the next 10 years for the first phase of this ground-breaking initiative and we are asking all those concerned with dementia to help us raise this.”

The research programme was launched yesterday at the House of Lords by two of the charity’s “ambassadors”, Oscar-winning writer and actor Julian Fellowes, Lord Fellowes of West Stafford, and TV presenter Fiona Phillips.

Fiona Phillips said: “I know from caring for both my mum and my dad the devastating impact that dementia can have on the person living with the condition and their families.”