Government holds dementia research showcase event
The government is holding an event today to showcase the UK’s research facilities and discuss how to drive forward international research on…
The government is holding an event today to showcase the UK’s research facilities and discuss how to drive forward international research on dementia.
As part of the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia, the showcase event will highlight the unique offer the UK can make to the industry as it searches for new ways to tackle the condition.
Representatives from more than 150 of the sector’s top researchers, foundations, charities and biotech companies will be attending the event, including the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, Alzheimer’s Research UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Lilly, Janssen, GE and AstraZeneca.
Attendees at the event will discuss the challenges of dementia research, the barriers faced by the industry and how the UK can respond.
Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb, who will speak at the event, said:
“The UK wants to be a world leader in dementia research, but only by international collaboration can we tackle the global challenge of this condition.
“By bringing the industry together to discuss how the UK’s unique research resources can make a difference, we are taking bold steps towards boosting dementia research.
“With up to 115 million people worldwide due to be affected by dementia by 2050, including a possible 1.7 million in the UK, this is truly a global problem that requires governments to take action.”
Delegates will learn how the country’s clinical research resources are well-placed to help bring about new discoveries - from understanding the fundamental biological processes underlying dementia to translating these into the clinical setting and on to the development of potential new therapies.
Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, said:
“We are all facing an unprecedented health challenge from dementia as the population ages, but the challenge of finding effective treatments is one we cannot underestimate.
“The UK understands that only by offering the right research environment and support for industry can we all work together towards a common goal of tackling this condition.”
Read the DH press notice ‘UK bids to become world-leader in dementia research with call for global collaboration’.
Find out more about the PM’s Dementia Challenge.