Paola Barbarino, CEO of Alzheimer’s Disease International, discusses the pressing issue of insufficient investment in the field of therapeutics for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which has arisen due to the lack of successful drug development for these indications to date. This has led to a reluctance of private investors to invest in the field and a lack of young researchers who wish to pursue this area of investigation. Additionally, pharmaceutical companies are pricing currently available treatments at a level that makes government reimbursement of the drugs unsustainable and results in disparities in access in the general population. Although currently approved therapeutics are not curative and are associated with some risks, they can modify the disease course, and Ms Barbarino voices her concern that patients with dementia are being denied the human right to make an informed decision about whether or not they wish to receive these treatments, due to the access issues discussed. Dementia and AD will be a growing concern as populations age and are already the leading or second leading cause of death in several countries, highlighting the pertinence of investment into this field. This interview took place at the 18th Annual Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy 2024) in London, UK.
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