Taking stock of Alzheimer’s research: Experts offer takes on Biogen, the NIH, and the amyloid hypothesis

WASHINGTON — Is seeking a cure for Alzheimer’s disease hopeless? Is Biogen’s recent decision to repurpose a failed Alzheimer’s trial an elaborate parlor trick? And what about Pfizer’s decision to walk away entirely from neuroscience entirely?

The unanswered questions in the field of Alzheimer’s research can make the average observer’s head spin.

So STAT’s executive editor Rick Berke pressed a panel of experts on those questions and more Tuesday in Washington as part of the Milken Institute’s Future of Health Summit. They were quick to emphasize the “tremendous hope” in the field of Alzheimer’s research, but the conversation also underscored the need to go back to basics — to support young scientists testing innovative new ideas, and to continue to research and improve our understanding of the basic functions of the brain.

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