LONDON - An effective Alzheimer’s treatment could be available in three years and a ‘vaccine’ that prevents the disease within a decade, experts said yesterday.
Twelve drugs – all of which could be potentially ‘life-changing’ – are set to complete clinical trials by 2021.
It is now a matter of ‘when not if’ a cure will be found for the disease, which causes dementia, a panel of leading Alzheimer’s specialists said.
The need for a cure is enormous. There are around 850,000 people suffering from dementia in the UK, two-thirds of them with Alzheimer’s. Last year it became Britain’s number one cause of death, overtaking cardiovascular disease, but no new Alzheimer’s drug has been approved by the NHS since 2002. That could soon change, said Dr David Reynolds, chief scientific officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK yesterday.
‘Right now, there are 12 drugs in the final stages of clinical trials meaning the first life-changing treatment could be possible within three years,’ he told a news conference.
‘And we know that because of the sheer number of people with dementia, the health system could face significant financial and practical challenges to get a new treatment to people quickly. That’s why we’re launching a taskforce today to begin developing creative and collaborative solutions to these challenges.’(FA)
