NIH States $414 Million in Additional FY 2018 Funding Needed for Alzheimer's Research

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Susan Collins, the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, released the following statement after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that $414 million in additional FY 2018 funds will be needed to meet the goal of preventing or effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025.  This goal was established by the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, which was created under the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), authored by Senator Collins and then-Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN), in 2011.
 
“Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease that exacts a tremendous personal and economic toll on individuals, families, and our health care system. In addition to the human suffering it causes, Alzheimer’s costs the United States an estimated $236 billion a year, including $160 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid, yet we are spending just a fraction of that amount on research,” said Senator Collins.  “While we have made significant progress in increasing funding for Alzheimer’s research, today’s announcement indicates that we must continue to do more to meet the goals we established through the National Alzheimer’s Project Act. With adequate funding to support the exciting research underway, we can achieve a world where Alzheimer’s can be treated effectively, cured, or prevented by 2025.”
 
Last year, following advocacy from Senator Collins, Congress approved a $350 million increase for Alzheimer’s disease research at the National Institute of Aging, bringing the total amount available for Alzheimer’s research in FY 2016 to $991 million – a more than 50 percent increase and almost half-way to the $2 billion-a-year goal that the National Advisory Council has estimated is required. Earlier this year, Senator Collins, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, strongly advocated for an additional $400 million in funding for Alzheimer’s for FY 2017. This increase has been included in legislation approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee.
 
Approximately 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease today, including 37,000 in Maine. It has been estimated that nearly one out of two of the baby boomer generation reaching 85 will develop Alzheimer's if our current trajectory is not altered.