Rewriting Alzheimer’s future together – a call to action for G7 countries

The world stands at a critical juncture in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

With life expectancy rising globally and more people living longer, the number of individuals affected by dementia is expected to increase in the coming years – and by 2050 will affect as many as 139 million adults globally.[i]This looming crisis demands immediate, coordinated action from governments, healthcare systems and society at large.

The 2023 G7 Nagasaki health ministers’ meeting reaffirmed the G7’s promise to promote research and development to improve health outcomes through the prevention, risk reduction, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of dementia including potential disease-modifying therapies.[ii]

As the G7 health ministers convened in Italy, passing the torch to Canada for 2025, we call for renewed efforts to prioritize Alzheimer’s disease, the leading cause of dementia, as a public health priority.

Despite this commitment, health systems across the world remain woefully unprepared to embrace new innovations in diagnosis and treatment, risking that European patients may be left behind the rest of the world in access to new tools and discouraging research that could lead to medical innovation where therapeutic options today are scarce. 

The urgency for ensuring access to treatments and diagnosis

Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating and fatal condition that robs individuals of their memories, independence and, ultimately, their futures. [iii] It is estimated that Alzheimer’s disease specifically impacts 416 million people worldwide, or more than one in five people aged 50 and above.[iv] In Europe alone, 7 million people are currently living with the disease, a number that could double by 2030.³ The wider impacts on health systems and economies are also profound – an estimated $2.8 trillion per year, a sum which is predicted to rise to $4.7 trillion by 2030.[v]

For far too long, a lack of new breakthroughs and a string of clinical trial failures has created helplessness and apathy to the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, leading to many – including healthcare professionals – thinking it is part of aging and there is nothing we can do. Still today, most cases of Alzheimer’s disease are misdiagnosed, diagnosed too late for treatment to be considered or never diagnosed at all.[iv]

With newly investigated treatments that target the underlying pathology of the disease, we are potentially altering and slowing the course of disease progression and delaying the need for care services. Furthermore, advanced testing methods, such as blood-based biomarker tests, are potential game-changers in rapid and accurate diagnosis.

A decade of remarkable progress

The 2013 G8 Dementia Summit in London challenged the Alzheimer’s disease research community to develop a disease-modifying therapy by 2025.[vi] Today, there is not just one, but multiple therapies in the field that have been demonstrated to deliver meaningful benefits.

We know that the hallmarks of the disease can appear two decades before symptoms manifest.[vii] We now possess the tools to respond to Alzheimer’s disease informed by patients’ genetic profiles. But only if the disease is detected early enough. Just as detecting cancer cells early and personalized medicine is a winning strategy, we are entering a new stage for Alzheimer’s disease response and management.

People around the world want and deserve access[viii] to diagnosis and treatment options available now, and we must ensure European patients are not left behind.

Committing to a future where memories endure

We have a historic opportunity to elevate the G7 target for a new era in the fight against dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, drawing on the latest scientific understanding, advanced detection and treatment tools for a potentially far stronger response.

Lilly has driven scientific progress for over 35 years, and we have no plans to slow our efforts now.

We envision a future where timely detection, accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment and prevention become reality. We are committed to collaborating with healthcare ecosystems to build the infrastructure needed to scale and adopt scientific advances.

Together, we can change the discourse around Alzheimer’s disease and usher in a new era – one of support, understanding and hope.  

[i] Alzheimer’s Disease International. Dementia Statistics. Available at: https://www.alzint.org/about/dementia-facts-figures/dementia-statistics/

[ii] G7 Nagasaki Health Ministers’ Communiqué https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10500000/001096403.pdf

[iii] EBC and EFPIA. (2023). RETHINKING Alzheimer’s disease: Detection and diagnosis. Available at: https://www.braincouncil.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/RETHINK-AlzheimerDisease-Report_DEF3_HD_rvb_03042023.pdf

[iv] Alzheimer’s Association (2022) Global estimates on the number of persons across the Alzheimer’s disease continuum. Available at: https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/alz.12694

[v] Nandi A, Counts N, Chen S, et al. Global and regional projections of the economic burden of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias from 2019 to 2050: A value of statistical life approach. EClinicalMedicine. 2022;51:101580. Published 2022 Jul 22. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101580.

[vi] GOV.UK. (n.d.). G8 dementia summit communique. [online] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/g8-dementia-summit-agreements/g8-dementia-summit-communique.

[vii] Aisen PS, Cummings J, Clifford RJ, On the path to 2025: understanding the Alzheimer’s disease continuum. Alzs Res Therapy. 2017 9: 60.

[viii] World Alzheimer Report 2024 | Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) (alzint.org)