The other day I learned that vaccines for Alzheimer’s disease are possibly going to be available globally by the year 2030. Alzheimer’s Diseases International (ADI) *1. I recently attended a webinar that was primarily focused on this intriguing information *2. Both vaccines developed by AC Immune and Vaxxinity received FDA Fast Track designations *3. Both vaccines are immunotherapeutic vaccines, which target on amyloid beta. So, basically the vaccines teach our body’s immune system to attack aggregated amyloid beta *4&5. One notable aspect of this process is that AC Immune’s vaccine trial includes people with Down Syndrome as well as people with Alzheimer’s *5. Some people may not know the connection, but people with Down Syndrome are more likely to develop amyloid beta accumulation and Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, this emerging vaccine is great news especially for people with Down Syndrome and their families.
CEOs from these two companies mentioned that learning from the Covid pandemic, global access of the Alzheimer’s vaccine is possible. Their ultimate goal is for the general public to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. This is fantastic news for ultimately everyone if/when the vaccines are safe and people across the world have equal access to this global distribution. This exciting medical possibility makes me cautiously hopeful about the future of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias!!
This is a side note but I want to add one fact, which is that both CEOs driving these groundbreaking vaccines are female. It is extremely rare to see a female CEO in bio-pharmaceutical companies and at this corporate level of power and leadership!
As a woman myself, it is exciting and encouraging to see that the face of advanced technology and innovation is someone like me, female!
*1 ADI is the umbrella organization for Alzheimer’s Associations around the world. They directly work with WHO, and advocate for/with people living with dementia. They have been providing numerous informative webinars during the pandemic and beyond, which I have been enjoying and learning new knowledge, studies, and innovations regarding Alzheimer disease and other dementias. I would highly recommend these educational opportunities for people to check out their website if you are interested in learning about their work, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and more.
*2 https://youtu.be/h7A93G0HVxU
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