Science & Technology

In the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) in the United States, affecting approximately 10.5 million individuals. This number is predicted to triple in the next 30 years.¹ However, in comparison to other disease areas such as oncology, the approval of NDD drugs has been relatively limited. Our team has explored the NDD drug development ecosystem from three perspectives: stakeholders, funding, and policy. This article summarizes our key findings and presents a case study to suggest that the scarcity of new drug development may be attributable to insufficient basic scientific research. Finally, we outline our objectives for the upcoming semester.

In recent years, there has been an increased focus on finding treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, as the prevalence of these diseases continues to rise globally. This blog aims to provide an overview of the sources and trends of funding for neurodegenerative disease research, with a particular focus on comparing funding for these diseases with that of other classes of diseases. By examining historical funding trends and the current sources of funding, we seek to shed light on the current state of the funding ecosystem for neurodegenerative disease research. We will also explore how funding is allocated across different types of neurodegenerative diseases and discuss potential bottlenecks in the funding process that may be hindering progress in the development of therapies.

*This blog is part of a series titled TAPP for Neurodegenerative Diseases Drug Discovery: Mapping the ecosystem

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are a class of disorders that cause the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, leading to declines in cognitive and physical abilities. Drug discovery and development for these diseases is a complex, multi-stakeholder process involving a variety of entities across the United States, including government agencies, businesses, research institutions, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations. These stakeholders interact with each other at various stages of the non-linear cycle of drug development, which typically involves a range of activities including pre-clinical research, clinical trials, regulatory approval, and commercialization.

Given the complexity of this process and the challenges involved in developing effective treatments for NDDs, it is important to better understand the role of different stakeholders and the potential barriers they face. This blog aims to provide a deeper examination of the various stakeholders involved in NDD drug discovery and development, and to offer an initial hypothesis on key challenges that may be contributing to the lack of disease-altering therapies for these conditions.

*This blog is part of a series titled TAPP for Neurodegenerative Diseases Drug Discovery: Mapping the ecosystem

As highlighted in our initial blog post, the neurodegenerative disease (NDD) drug development space has seen little progress compared to other disease areas such as cancer and immunology. A number of factors contribute to a lack of curative or disease-altering therapies addressing NDD including a poor understanding of the pathophysiology of most NDDs and historically lower investment as opposed to other disease areas. However, the use of policy instruments has the potential to drive progress and improve NDD drug development. This article introduces our research on the impact of key policies on NDD drug development. It also presents our initial findings on the effectiveness of current policies and identifies areas where further action is needed.

*This blog is part of a series titled TAPP for Neurodegenerative Diseases Drug Discovery: Mapping the ecosystem

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS represent a global health crisis affecting more than nine million people in the United States alone. NDDs are caused by progressive loss of central nervous system neurons - currently, there is no cure to reverse this loss. The only approved therapies are palliative or mildly reduce some symptoms. In this blog, the author introduces ways technology and public policy can improve the drug discover process to "cure the uncureable" - setting the stage for his larger research project this academic year.