“I have very modest goals. I want to have the biggest impact on human suffering of anyone ever,” says Lou Reese, cofounder of the biotech company Vaxxinity. He might just make it. If all goes according to plan, the company will offer a new drug by 2030 that will revolutionize our approach to one of the world’s most feared diseases and may even lead to its eradication.
That disease is Alzheimerthe most common form of dementia, which causes untold pain to individuals and their families. This and other forms of dementia are seen as a ticking time bomb waiting to explode in the brains of an increasingly aging population.
But now it looks like there may be a way to defuse this problem. Vaxxinity, based in Cape Canaveral, Florida, is working on vaccines designed to halt the progression of Alzheimer’s or even prevent it from developing in the first place. Several other companies are in the game, and the approach is showing promise. “Society is entering an era where the uncontrolled devastation of Alzheimer’s disease is no longer inevitable,” he says. Dennis Selkoe at Harvard Medical School.
Around 55 million people live with dementia and this number is expected to rise to around 140 million by 2050, with disastrous consequences for patients, their families and our health and social care systems.