Urges renewed urgency on national goal to effectively treat and prevent Alzheimer’s disease by 2025

Washington, D.C. (February 10, 2021) – UsAgainstAlzheimer’s released the following statement on the Alzheimer’s community’s recommended $289 million increase for Alzheimer’s research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the need for greater urgency to meet the national goal of effectively treating and preventing Alzheimer’s disease by 2025.

“Alzheimer’s is a looming chronic disease pandemic that touches millions of families each year, and it is vital to continue needed increases in federal funding for Alzheimer’s research that can lead to effective treatments, cures, and prevention. We urge the White House and Congress to support a $289 million increase in NIH Alzheimer’s research funding in FY22.

“Since our founding in 2010, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s has fiercely advocated for accelerated investment in federal Alzheimer’s research, and we are proud to see that federal spending for Alzheimer’s research at NIH has increased from $448 million in 2010 to $3.1 billion in FY21.

“The increased funding support for research is helping scientists better understand Alzheimer’s, and there is hope on the horizon with several drug therapies now before the FDA for review.

“Stopping Alzheimer’s requires a strong and sustained national effort, and increased research spending is only a part of what’s needed to end Alzheimer’s. Funding should be targeted to areas of high unmet need, including addressing the disproportionate impact of Alzheimer’s on people of color and by developing research infrastructure in underserved communities. 

“The Biden-Harris Administration should recommit to the national goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. This goal, set 10 years ago, has spurred these critical investments in research and led to interagency collaboration which have changed the trajectory of Alzheimer’s science and brought the movement to a new precipice of hope and opportunity. However, at the current pace, this effort will fall far short of the finish line in 2025.

“The White House and Congress must dedicate more energy, urgency and focus to stopping Alzheimer’s. There should be bipartisan support for a set of recommendations made by a federal Advisory Council created as part of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act. These important recommendations include development of a timebound national goal and corresponding implementation plan to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias; advancing health equity by addressing racial and ethnic disparities; and easing the economic hardship of dementia care by expanding family medical leave.

“Alzheimer’s and related dementias take a devastating toll on a rapidly growing number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease, their families and caregivers, and the already resource-constrained health systems they will turn to. The Obama-Biden Administration and Congress started the work of ending Alzheimer’s a decade ago. Now, it’s time for the Biden-Harris Administration and the 117th Congress to step up and finish the job.”

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