A network of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s.

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About Us

ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer’s, a network of UsAgainstAlzheimer's, is a global coalition of over 500 leading Alzheimer’s researchers that advocates for research funding and policy reform to support our goal of preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease. Given the challenges facing Alzheimer’s patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals today, the Researchers network considers the development of a coordinated global research strategy critical.

If government, private industry, and the research community unite with a common goal and purpose, backed with the necessary leadership, resources, and incentives, the power of scientific research can be unleashed to deliver new cures and prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Beliefs

We have heard some say that Alzheimer’s disease is an inevitable part of aging. Others have claimed that it simply cannot be prevented or effectively treated anytime soon. Still others believe that we simply cannot afford to do what it would take to stop the disease. They are all wrong.

As men and women of science, we are united by a simple but bold belief: It is possible to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease within our lifetimes, but only if our nation does what is necessary:

  1. Set an aggressive goal of stopping Alzheimer’s disease by 2025, because it will focus the energies of the research community;
  2. Invest significant resources in Alzheimer’s research and innovation, because our commitment to cures must match the scale of the challenge;
  3. Institute reforms to accelerate the drug pipeline and deliver therapies to patients faster, because the ultimate goal of research is to bring help to those afflicted, and to prevent the disease from afflicting future generations.

If government, private industry, and the research community unite with a common goal and purpose backed with the necessary leadership, resources, and incentives, the power of scientific research can be unleashed to unlock new possibilities, to deliver new cures, and to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Founding Members

Paul Aisen, MD

Founding Director of the University of Southern California Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute

Howard Fillit, MD

Executive Director, Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation

Reisa Sperling, MD

Director, Center for Alzheimer's Research and Treatment, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School

Marilyn Albert, PhD

Director of the Division of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Director of the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

David Holtzman, MD

Chair, Department of Neurology, Washington University, St. Louis

Rudy Tanzi, PhD

Director, Genetics and Aging Research Unit, Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, and Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School

David Bennett, MD

Robert C. Borwell Professor of Neurological Sciences and Director of the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center

Takeshi Iwatsubo, MD, PhD*

Professor of Neuropathology at the School of Medicine, University of Tokyo

John Trojanowski, MD, PhD

Co-Director, Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, and Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Core Center of the University of Pennsylvania

Jeff Cummings, MD

Director of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health

Bruce Lamb, PhD

Executive Director, Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University

Michael Weiner, MD

Professor in Residence in Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Medicine, Psychiatry, and Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, and Principle Investigator of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Steve DeKosky, MD

Aerts-Cosper Professor of Alzheimer's Research at the University of Florida College of Medicine

Simone Lovestone, PhD*

Professor of Translational Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry-Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford

Ron Peterson, MD, PhD

Director, Mayo Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

Rachelle Doody, MD, PhD

Global Head of Neurodegeneration in Product Development, Neuroscience at Roche Pharmaceutical Company

David Morgan, PhD

Professor of Translational Sciences, Director of the Alzheimer's Alliance, Michigan State University 

 

Affiliations are for identification purposes only and do not necessarily represent the endorsement of the affiliated institution.

* indicates the representative is serving as a strategic advisor to ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer’s

Member Expectations

Members of the network will be expected to

  • Concur with and add their name to the ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer’s Statement of Beliefs;
  • Act as an advocate for Alzheimer’s research in their home country and with international organizations;
  • Attend ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer’s events when schedule and availability allow;
  • Provide scientific expertise and insights to inform policy maker outreach as schedule permits; and
  • Share with ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer's their ideas on what a national and global public policy strategy to increase research in Alzheimer’s should be

Latest Updates

  • August 05, 2020

    New Study Finds Alzheimer’s Outranks Cancer, Infectious Diseases such as COVID-19, Stroke and Heart Attack as Most-Feared Chronic Disease by Retirees

    UsAgainstAlzheimer’s issued the following statement on the latest findings in the 2020...

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  • July 30, 2020

    UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Hails New Lancet Commission Findings that Up to 40 Percent of Dementia Cases Could be Prevented or Delayed

    UsAgainstAlzheimer’s (UsA2) today applauded The Lancet Commission’s release of new research showing...

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  • July 29, 2020

    New UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Research Shows What Matters Most to Patients and Caregivers in Drug Treatments

    UsAgainstAlzheimer’s (UsA2) today released five publications delivering first-of-their kind findings on outcomes...

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  • July 28, 2020

    UsA2 Statement on Promising New Research on Blood Tests for Alzheimer's

    Read more
  • July 08, 2020

    UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Calls Biogen Submission of Alzheimer’s Treatment for FDA Review and Approval an Exciting Step Forward

    George Vradenburg, chairman and co-founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, issued the following statement.

    Read more
  • February 10, 2020

    UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Statement on Disappointing Results from DIAN-TU Clinical Trial

    UsAgainstAlzheimer’s today released the following statement regarding the negative results of anti-amyloid...

    Read more

Learn about Clinical Trials

Featured Reports

Each year, ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer’s (RA2) releases a report on Alzheimer’s drugs in late-stage clinical development and other related topics. Check out the latest reports.

RA2’s Phase 2 & 3 Pipeline Poster (July 2019)

The 2019 Alzheimer's drug pipeline report showcases an array of approaches in development to treat the disease, including novel vaccines, gene therapies and interventions designed to target bacterial and viral infections associated with Alzheimer's.

 


RA2’s Phase 2 & 3 Pipeline Poster (July 2018)

ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer’s calls on governments, industry, entrepreneurs, and world leaders to improve the healthcare system to respond to today's patients and caregivers and accommodate future Alzheimer’s disease treatments in its latest drug pipeline analysis.

 


RA2’s Phase 2 & 3 Pipeline Poster (July 2017)

Twenty-seven Alzheimer’s drugs in Phase III clinical trials and eight drugs in Phase II clinical trials may launch in the next five years, according to a revised Alzheimer’s pipeline analysis presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) by ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer’s. 

 


Single Endpoint for New Drug Approvals for Alzheimer’s Disease (May 2017)

The FDA's approach to approving new medicines for Alzheimer’s disease since the 1990s has been to require a proven benefit on two independent primary endpoints of cognition and function, although this policy has not been formalized in the FDA rules or finalized FDA guidance. The FDA should clarify for the field that a clinically meaningful benefit on a single primary endpoint of cognition or function is a sufficient basis for a New Drug Application filing.


RA2’s Phase 2 Pipeline Analysis (September 2016)

A new analysis of the Phase II Alzheimer’s drug pipeline, conducted by RA2, revealed 57 new Alzheimer’s drugs. According to the analysis, nearly twice as many mechanisms of action are being tested in Phase II as compared to Phase III clinical trials.

 


RA2’s Phase 3 Pipeline Analysis (March 2016)

Today’s Alzheimer’s disease drug pipeline, marred by more than a decade of high failure rates and public underinvestment, is offering near-term promise with 17 drugs on pace to launch in the next five years, according to a recent analysis conducted by ResearchersAgainstAlzheimer’s.

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