Advancing Alzheimer's Care Across the Patient Journey
Our understanding of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is advancing faster than ever before, and so is our ability to translate new insights into meaningful change for patients and their families. This progress requires more than breakthrough therapies; it demands a rethinking of the full continuum of care, from earlier conversations about brain health to how care is delivered, and ultimately to the next frontiers of disease biology. Biogen is committed to advancing each of these areas through a holistic approach designed to improve the experience and outcomes of people affected by AD across the patient journey.
Breaking Down Stigma: Earlier Conversations and Engagement
For many people living with AD and their families, the road to diagnosis can be marked by uncertainty and fear about what the disease may mean for the future. Those perceptions can make cognitive changes harder to confront and conversations about memory and brain health harder to begin. Breaking down stigma means creating space for people and families to talk openly, seek answers and recognize that a diagnosis does not define the person or what comes next. Earlier conversations can help people get the answers, care and support they need sooner.
Biogen is working to shift this dynamic through programs focused on culturally competent resources, cognitive assessment and community engagement to help ensure that education about brain health, early and accurate diagnosis and available care and support reaches those who need it most. Through initiatives like Biogen’s Clinical Trial Learning Community, which works to expand representation in AD research and address barriers to trial participation, teams aim to help make clinical research more inclusive and ensure advances in care can benefit broader patient communities. Biogen also supports broader efforts to help advance next-generation diagnostic tools through collaborations such as the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation's Diagnostics Accelerator.
Sarah Kleinpeter, Head of Alzheimer’s and Dementia Franchise
“Earlier conversations about brain health can make a meaningful difference for individuals and families navigating AD" said Sarah Kleinpeter, Head of Alzheimer’s and Dementia Franchise. “By helping people feel empowered to seek answers sooner, we can reduce stigma, support timely diagnosis and connect more people to the care and support they need.”
Transforming Care Delivery: Improving the Patient Journey
Starting these conversations is only the first step. Once individuals begin seeking answers, navigating the path from diagnosis to care becomes equally important. At Biogen, we believe advancing AD care requires more than advances in science alone. It also requires helping build a healthcare ecosystem that supports timely diagnosis and care and reduces barriers throughout the patient journey.
This begins with simplifying the path to diagnosis. Advances in blood-based biomarkers have the potential to support earlier identification of eligible patients, enable faster and less invasive confirmation of disease and help create a clearer path to care. Biogen is also exploring ways to improve how care is delivered, with approaches designed to reduce burden for patients and caregivers. From evaluating more flexible options, to helping support a more seamless care experience, these efforts are aimed at making care easier to navigate and more convenient to receive.
"The patient journey doesn't begin with a diagnosis and it doesn't end with treatment. Every step along the way matters,” explained Diana Gallagher, Head of Clinical Development, Immune-Mediated and Neurodegeneration. “By streamlining care pathways and exploring more flexible delivery options, we can help ease the burden on patients and caregivers and improve their care experience.”
Diana Gallagher, Head of Clinical Development, Immune-Mediated and Neurodegeneration
Pioneering a New Frontier: Follow the Science Wherever It Leads
While advances in diagnosis and care delivery are helping reshape the patient journey today, significant opportunities remain to deepen our understanding of AD and unlock future innovations. At Biogen, we believe continued progress will require pursuing multiple scientific approaches and following the biology wherever it leads.
This includes ongoing work to better understand the role of tau pathology, a key driver of neurodegeneration and cognitive decline in AD, as well as advances in tissue-targeted delivery designed to help therapies reach the brain more effectively. Biogen is also exploring one of the field's most important scientific questions: whether intervention before symptoms emerge may help alter the course of disease. Through research, we’re investigating how earlier intervention may help redefine what is possible in AD care.
Ross Jeggo, Head of Neurology Research
“We are making meaningful progress in Alzheimer’s disease, even as its biology continues to challenge us. By following the science, we are uncovering new insights, pursuing novel approaches and building the foundation for treatments of the future that will help transform patient care,” said Ross Jeggo, Head of Neurology Research.
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