“My goal is really modest: I want to have the biggest impact on human suffering ever before,” says Lou Rees, co-founder of the biotech company Vaxxinity. And he might just get there: If all goes according to plan, by 2030 the company will deliver a new drug that will transform our approach to one of the world’s most feared diseases, and maybe even eradicate it.
The disease in question is Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, which causes immense suffering to patients and their families. Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia are considered time bombs that are about to explode in the brains of an ageing population.
But now there seems to be a way around this problem. Cape Canaveral, Florida-based Vaxxinity is working on a vaccine designed to halt the progression of Alzheimer’s disease or stop it from starting in the first place. Several other companies are also working on the effort, and the approach shows great promise. “Society is entering a period where the unchecked ravages of Alzheimer’s are no longer inevitable,” says Dennis Selkoe of Harvard Medical School.
Approximately 55 million people live with dementia, a number predicted to rise to approximately 140 million by 2050, with devastating consequences for patients, their families, and health and social care systems.
