George Vradenburg

Stopping Alzheimer's: Personal, Economic and Policy Imperatives

Neil de Crescenzo, Robert Hormats, Sue Siegel, George Vradenburg, Anne Whitaker, Cecilia Arradaza, Bob Hormats, Peggy Wallace, Michael Miller

With Alzheimer's disease imposing a global economic burden equivalent to an $18th-largest national economy and a 97% research failure rate, experts call for a strategic shift from viewing the condition as merely a health issue to addressing it as a sovereign economic crisis. Key figures and organizations, including the NIH, GE, and the BRAIN Initiative, are urging a tripling of funding to $2 billion annually alongside the development of validated biomarkers to overcome current diagnostic and regulatory barriers. To mitigate this fiscal threat and extend productive lifespans, stakeholders propose cross-sector collaboration to create new financial instruments and public awareness campaigns that mobilize caregivers and policymakers toward systemic reform.