London Mayor Calls For International Dementia Research Institute

London Mayor Boris Johnson has today announced an ambition to create an International Dementia Research Institute that would bring together experts to tackle the condition. In a meeting at City Hall in London today, leading research organisations – including pharmaceutical companies and charities such as Alzheimer’s Research UK – will discuss ways to foster collaboration and speed up progress towards new treatments.

Hilary Evans, Director of External Affairs for Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity, said:
“If we are to meet the G8 ambition of a new effective therapy for dementia by 2025, we need radical action to enable the research community to make breakthroughs. We must aim for the same kind of scientific advances that have yielded patient benefits in cancer and heart disease. Increasing the number of scientists, improving infrastructure and fostering collaboration will be crucial. Institutes can bring focus and the best resources together to answer our biggest questions in health, and with no effective treatments available, dementia is in dire need of answers.

“Alzheimer’s Research UK’s network of Drug Discovery Institutes and our strategic partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry through the Dementia Consortium are helping fast track promising early discoveries into viable drug targets. We know that bringing different research funders together and playing to each of their unique strengths will create an environment where progress can be made quickly and effectively.”