Inspiring Urgency Needed to Tackle Alzheimer’s Disease

A top-5 pharmaceutical company needed to prepare decision-makers for the patient and health system impact of disease-modifying therapies and diagnostic biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease.

Recognizing that researchers and policymakers around the world have an incomplete understanding of the true burden of Alzheimer’s, Shift Health led a multipronged research effort to characterize what is known about the direct, indirect and intangible costs of AD—for patients, caregivers, health systems and society—and call attention to gaps that are leading to systematic underestimation of current and future impact. Our work resulted in a landmark publication on the costs of AD, informed the company’s integrated global AD access strategy, and supported evidence-based dialogue with decision-makers about the potential value of early detection and intervention.

Shift Health is helping to build awareness that the calculated burden of Alzheimer’s represents only the tip of the iceberg, forcing us to rethink how we assess new AD interventions to account for their full value to society.