Brave Innovations: Public and Private Solutions to Advance Alzheimer’s Therapeutics and Diagnostic in a Risk-Averse Climate

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD) affect more than 5 million Americans and are expected to impact 13.8 million people by 2050. These diseases devastate families globally, while costing the U.S. health care system over $1 trillion. Despite a risk-averse environment due to clinical trial failures, significant investments and innovations that extend beyond traditional research paradigms to effectively treat and prevent AD/ADRD are needed. No disease-modifying treatments currently exist to treat AD/ADRD, and there is a lack of low-cost, blood-based diagnostic tools for early detection of AD/ADRD. This session will explore new opportunities for the biotech community, including seed funding through the NIH SBIR/STTR programs, that can spark innovation in AD/ADRD research. Panelists will share how entrepreneurs and researchers in the AD/ADRD space can access and leverage available support. Panelists will discuss how the launch of a new public-private partnership between ADDF and NIH will accelerate the development of novel innovations.