Andy Burnham has vowed to make dementia a national priority as he announced a £48 million industry partnership to back dementia research and bring promising new treatments to patients faster.
The Prime Minister, whose father Roy died last month after living with Alzheimer’s disease, said he wanted Britain “to be the country that makes the breakthrough”.
The Government will invest £33 million alongside funding from Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK and Gates Ventures to help recruit more people for clinical studies.
The investment will support The Barbara Alliance, which was launched in memory of the late EastEnders actress Dame Barbara Windsor to speed up the development of dementia treatments.
Speaking ahead of the Innovation Nation Summit, the Prime Minister said there was no reason why Britain could not lead the world in the search for new dementia treatments.
“Dementia is a devastatingly cruel disease, not only for those who live with it, but for the families who care for them. For too long, we have accepted dementia as something to be managed later in life, rather than a disease we can defeat. I don’t accept that. In fact, I have real hope that we can come together and do exactly that,” he said.
“I want Britain to be the country that makes the breakthrough and delivers the cure for dementia the world has been waiting for. That is why I am making dementia research a national priority - by backing the NHS, universities, researchers and industry to drive the breakthroughs we desperately need.”
Under the new plans, The Barbara Alliance’s flagship programme, BARBARA, will create a single, co-ordinated platform linking the UK’s health data, research and clinical trial capabilities, making it easier for researchers to find participants and for people across the UK to take part in studies.
Reacting to the news, Alzheimer’s Research UK said the announcement comes at a “critical time”, with more Alzheimer’s medicines currently in development worldwide than ever before. However, the charity warned that the UK is falling behind other countries in the race to develop and test new treatments.
As of November 2024, only 9% of all past and present interventional drug trials for dementia have taken place in the UK.
Hilary Evans-Newton CBE, Chair of the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme and Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We know that people affected by dementia want the opportunity to be part of the search for better treatments. More than 90% we’ve surveyed told us they would like to take part in research, helping to shape a better future for everyone affected by the condition.
“The BARBARA Alliance has been created to change that. By tackling the barriers to dementia research and speeding up recruitment to clinical trials, this funding will help more people contribute to breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment.”
Michelle Dyson, CEO of Alzheimer’s Society, said the investment is a “major vote of confidence” in the work of The Barbara Alliance.
“The Prime Minister is right to reject the idea that dementia is simply an inevitable part of ageing,” she added.
“With sustained investment, earlier diagnosis and a determination to make research accessible to everyone, we have a real opportunity to create the change that's so desperately needed.'