Progress in Alzheimer’s Disease Builds Renewed Interest in Research

In June of 2021, the FDA approved a new drug, Aduhelm, from the company Biogen for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

In June of 2021, the FDA approved a new drug, Aduhelm, from the company Biogen for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Nobody with Down syndrome was included in the trials and the lack of data has raised concerns about the use of this new drug for treating Alzheimer’s in Down syndrome. Read more about Aduhelm and Down syndrome.

However, the approval of Aduhelm has also created new interest in Alzheimer’s research and many are asking why more research isn’t being done on Down syndrome associated Alzheimer’s disease (DS-AD). In October, Dr. Jim Hendrix, LuMind IDSC Chief Scientific Officer, participated in 2 panel discussions on Alzheimer’s research. On October 7, the National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices (NTG) sponsored a panel discussion on (DS-AD). See this link to view the presentation and discussions. In addition, October 13, Dr. Hendrix participated on a J-Labs (a division of Johnson & Johnson) sponsored panel discussion on Aduhelm and the future of Alzheimer’s research. This meeting included many entrepreneurs looking for new approached to Alzheimer’s research. Dr. Hendrix used his platform to call for more support from the biotech and pharmaceutical industry for DS-AD research.

It is a major focus of LuMind IDSC to engage with the biotech and pharmaceutical industry to try to get them to develop new and better treatments for people with Down syndrome. As part of this strategy, on November 11, the LuMind IDSC research consortium will hold the first in person meeting in Boston with their pharmaceutical company members, Merck and AbbVie. We continue to meet with other companies and look for way to progress their research in order to find new and better treatments that will improve the lives of people with Down syndrome.

Finally, Dr. Hendrix will be speaking at the North Carolina Down Syndrome Congress (NC Statewide Conference | NC Down Syndrome Alliance (ncdsalliance.org)) on November 13. His talk is titled: “Alzheimer’s and Dementia in Down Syndrome” and will be presented for families interested in learning more about this important area of research.