A horizon of hope in 2025

This time last year our team at Alzheimer’s Society tentatively hoped that 2024 would yield a tipping point for dementia. As I begin to wind down for the festive period and reflect over the year, I believe we have now entered a transformative era - in some ways the beginning of the end.

In 2024 UK regulators approved the first treatments that slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease - a significant moment. Whilst it is disappointing that neither lecanemab nor donanemab are available on the NHS, we await a final decision on the availability of the treatments from NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence).

But we have, unquestionably, reached a turning point for dementia this year. We’ve waited so long for a treatment which can alter the course of this devastating disease.

That’s one of many reasons why I’m finishing 2024 brimming with hope for the future.

Treatments

This year we expect to hear decisions from regulators on several treatments and we anticipate results from clinical trials on treatments including remternetug and semaglutide – both of which aim to slow Alzheimer’s disease.

In total, there are 127 drugs for Alzheimer’s disease in clinical trials. Around 20 are in late-stage clinical trials. Once this is completed, if the trial is successful, the treatment will be sent to the regulator for approval for use in the UK.

It’s exciting to see the diversification taking place of both drug targets (amyloid, tau, inflammation) and methods for giving the drugs (pills, IV, under the skin injection).

At Alzheimer's Disease International’s ‘Translating the Alzheimer’s treatment revolution into real world solutions’ Professor Jeff Cummings made the point that around 30% of the 127 drugs for Alzheimer’s disease currently in clinical trials are ‘repurposed’ drugs. This means they have already gone through an approvals process for another condition. This is important because part of the testing has already been done, the drug can get to the clinic more quickly.

As Prof Cummings said, it takes years to get from Phase 1 to Phase 3 trials. That period must be shortened so we can get treatments developed more quickly. We are already seeing progress through innovative platform trials testing multiple drugs or the same drugs in lots of different groups of people.

For other dementias the number of drugs in trials is increasing with approximately 12 clinical trials in the later Phase 3 stage.

My personal highlights

I have so many personal highlights from over the last 12 months. One must be the television programme Love, Loss and Dementia, which showed the realities of living with dementia honestly and compassionately. Many staff at Alzheimer’s Society worked with the team at Channel 4 to make this a reality.

We also announced our Dementia Research Nurses programme. This pilot scheme aims to increase the numbers of people with dementia signing up for dementia research. Only through research will we achieve the breakthroughs we urgently need in dementia and I’m so proud to be part of Alzheimer’s Society delivering a solution to the poor recruitment which slows down progress. In 2025, the first cohort of these nurses will start work at NHS settings across the UK.

I’ll never forget finding out we and our partners, Alzheimer’s Research UK and the NIHR, had secured ￡5million from People’s Postcode Lottery Dream Fund to revolutionise dementia diagnosis. A highlight in 2024 was the announcement of those research teams who will provide the evidence that blood testing for dementia can work in real-life clinical settings. There’ll be more to say in 2025 about how this is progressing.

Earlier this year we commissioned evidence which found that people with dementia face 110 healthcare inequalities. We then invited research teams to come forward with solutions to one or more of these inequalities. Next year, we’ll announce the recipients of this ￡2million funding.

We’ll also announce who will be taking forward the joint research call for from Alzheimer’s Society and Marie Curie for projects which will improve end of life care for people with dementia.

Early career researchers

After watching Blackadder growing up, I was thrilled to be invited onto Tony Robinson’s Cunningcast podcast. Tony asked me what my cunning plan was and this is it – get the best and brightest minds into dementia research!

Not long after that interview, we announced we’d invest ￡9million in three Doctoral Training Centres which will support around 90 exceptional PhD students. The first is already underway and recruitment finished a few days ago. The others are recruiting now and will launch in September.

Researchers entering the field must be supported to stay in the dementia research field. These doctoral training centres will not only provide a supportive environment for young researchers; they will bring us valuable new knowledge about dementia with Lewy bodies, the role of the immune system in dementia and the third will focus on how to deliver care from diagnosis to end of life.

I’m really looking forward to meeting some of the students next year. I hope to see some at our annual Early Career Researcher Retreat taking place in July.

The Retreat is one of the ways in which we aim to help talented individuals thrive in dementia research. There is a growing number of really bright young people who want to dedicate their life to this space.

They can change the world.

As a dementia research funder, we have to help them get there.

Right now, Alzheimer’s Society is actively funding ￡54million in research.

Next year, I’m very much looking forward to spending time with the research community and developing new partnerships.

We also need to ensure that we continue to provide solutions for people living with dementia now as well as those who will be diagnosed in the future.

Through the ￡4.4m international Longitude Prize on Dementia and our own award-winning innovation programmes we are supporting the development of products and solutions which will help people live more independently for longer. Sat in an auditorium in Geneva in October for the announcement of our five Longitude finalists, and seeing the extensive media coverage afterwards, was fantastic.

The challenge

We began this year determined to illustrate at the highest levels the scale and the urgency of the challenge of dementia.

A compelling argument for change was made through new evidence we commissioned.

It starkly demonstrated the impact of dementia on the UK economy at a cost of ￡42bn in 2024. Not only that, we spelled out the enormous impact of dementia on the healthcare system.

We worked with The King’s Fund, held parliamentary events, visited party conferences and so much more to get our message in front of policymakers and decision-takers at local and national level.

After all our determined efforts across the organisation, we are beginning to see that conversation changing.

Change cannot come soon enough.

In 2025, I know we’ll get closer – closer to a better future for everyone living with dementia and those who will be diagnosed in the future.

Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate and a Happy New Year!