World Dementia Envoy Dr Dennis Gillings has warned that progress on dementia research is ‘achingly slow’ and must be made more attractive to pharmaceutical companies so that they will invest and innovate.
Dr Gillings was speaking at the Global Dementia Legacy Event on Finance and Social Investment in Dementia, 19th June 2014 in London.
He said:
“Just as the world came together in the fight against HIV/AIDS, we need to free up regulation so that we can test groundbreaking new drugs, and examine whether the period for market exclusivity could be extended. Without this radical change, we won’t make progress in the fight against dementia.”
Dr Gillings outlined 3 priority areas for action:
- The ratio of risk to reward facing pharmaceutical companies investing in dementia
- The need to stimulate investment in research and development
- Better international co-ordination and interpretation of social media and big data
Watch the live video stream of the event on the Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge website.