Charting a new course in Alzheimer’s disease

People with Alzheimer’s disease and their loved ones face a daunting future, with unanswered questions and few therapeutic options. As the disease progresses, people often lose their independence, which can bring overwhelming challenges.

What if a diagnosis did more than identify a disease? What if it could change the course of the journey, and provide insight into the best way to treat or even prevent it? This is our goal for the future of Alzheimer's care, where advanced testing and medicine can work together to help slow, stop or even possibly prevent disease progression. 

Roche believes a new step towards that ambition is being designed today. Our strategy is built on the idea that simpler, more accessible diagnostics are crucial for change. They have the potential to transform not only how we approach research and development, but also how Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed and treated. Advancing the development of tools like blood tests and cerebrospinal fluid testsoffers the potential to identify biological changes in Alzheimer’s disease, such as the buildup of amyloid plaques and tau tangles. This can potentially create a vital window of opportunity before symptoms even emerge.

“For the first time, we can see the pathobiological footprints of Alzheimer’s in more routine assays years before cognitive decline, and these advances are fueling a seismic shift in our approach to research and development,” says Azad Bonni, SVP and Global Head of Neuroscience & Rare Diseases at Roche Pharma Research & Early Development.

Earlier and more accessible diagnosis can allow for the use of new potential treatments, with medicines being designed to target key hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease more effectively in the brain. This combined approach is fundamental to the goal of intervening sooner to delay, and ultimately prevent, the progression of a disease which affects most of the 57 million people living with dementia today.1

But diagnosis is only half the story. A diagnosis is most powerful when it is connected to a treatment plan. This requires overcoming one of medicine's greatest hurdles: the blood-brain barrier. This natural defense system is crucial for safety, but it can prevent some medicines from reaching the brain. This can limit the development of promising treatments in neurological diseases.

The core of our integrated approach is to develop medicines that can be delivered seamlessly to the brain to target the underlying pathology of the disease. By bringing our pharmaceutical and diagnostic teams together, we aim to better match patients with the treatments most likely to help them.

Achieving this goal is a complex, long-term commitment, built on pioneering research, deep collaboration and a steadfast focus on the needs of patients and their families. By connecting every part of the patient journey, from detection to treatment and management, we can make Alzheimer's a more navigable disease. This is how we can change the future for patients and families.