WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease (CEOi) today announced that Axovant Sciences will join the CEOi as part of its ongoing effort to advance innovations and solutions in Alzheimer's drug development and care delivery.
Approximately every three seconds, another person somewhere in the world is diagnosed with Alzheimer's or related dementia. According to the recently released Alzheimer's Disease International World Report, Alzheimer's costs over $800 billion annually – an increase of 35% in the last five years.
"Axovant is at the forefront of Alzheimer's drug development and is deeply involved in bringing new solutions to patients," said George Vradenburg, Convener of the CEOi and Chairman of UsAgainstAlzheimer's. "I'm so pleased that they have joined us in partnering globally with governments and researchers in the fight against this dreadful disease. With faster clinical trials, an expanded diversity of drug targets and medicines, improved regulatory and payer pathways and global care delivery standards, we are generating increasing momentum in the Alzheimer's battle."
By bringing leading private sector businesses into partnership with governments and researchers, the CEOi works to advance therapy development, drive regulatory improvements, bring new public and private financing into all aspects of research and improve care delivery. The CEOi members include AC Immune, Axovant, Bank of America, General Electric, Home Instead, Janssen, Lilly, Merck, Nestle Health Science, Pfizer, Quintiles, Roche, Sanofi, and Takeda.
"As a leading clinical-stage company dedicated to developing novel therapies for patients with dementia, we are thrilled to partner with George and the CEO initiative to help deliver meaningful improvements to Alzheimer's disease patients and their caregivers," said Vivek Ramaswamy, CEO and founder of Axovant. "We share the organization's commitment to driving innovation and bringing new solutions to the problem of Alzheimer's disease."
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The Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease (CEOi) is an organization of private-sector leaders providing business leadership in the fight against Alzheimer's. The CEOi partners with leaders from all sectors to transform the disease from a social, health, and economic crisis into an opportunity for healthy aging through innovation in research and care. In this era of aging populations, solving the global challenge of Alzheimer's will take visionary, coordinated, goal-oriented leadership. CEOi is convened by UsAgainstAlzheimer's, an entrepreneurial, disruptive