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With the aging of the Baby Boomer generation in the United States, AD is projected to place a substantial burden on the elderly, their families, and the healthcare system. Since there is no cure, limited medical therapies, and the absence of a clear etiology; AD presents more questions than answers, making drug development for AD particularly challenging.

• AD currently affects approximately 5.3 million people in the United States.
• By 2050, that number is expected to triple.
• Direct costs of AD have been estimated at $183 billion.
• The five FDA-approved AD drugs, currently on the market, temporarily treat its cognitive symptoms and improve quality of life, but do not address the underlying causes.
• Available therapies become less effective as AD progresses.
• More than 70 drugs are undergoing preclinical or clinical testing to evaluate their efficacy and safety for the treatment of patients with AD. However, recent failures of agents in late-stage clinical trials represent serious setbacks and highlight the challenges associated with drug development for AD.

This webinar will provide healthcare professionals with an overview of AD and the need for new therapies, discuss the neurobiological alterations associated with AD, review the evidence for AD therapies in late-stage testing, and describe the challenges associated with drug development for AD.

Target Audience:

The target audience for this webinar includes all healthcare professionals interested in drug development for patients with AD. These include physicians, nurses, geriatricians, neurologists, pharmacists, physician assistants, medical assistants, case managers, and hospital and healthcare administrators.

Overall Learning Purpose/Goal:

The goal of this webinar is to provide an overview of the neurobiological alterations associated with AD and a discussion of how the neurobiology of AD is framing drug development for this disease.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:

1. Describe the need for new and more effective therapies for AD. Content will include information on the following:
   • Personal and societal impact of AD
   • Symptoms and prognosis of AD
   • Current treatments for AD
2. Elucidate alterations that occur in the brain during AD. Content will include information on the following:
   • Global changes
     • Cortical atrophy
     • Hippocampal degeneration
     • Ventricular enlargement
   • Neuronal alterations
     • Neuronal death and loss of synapses
     • Plaques
     • Neurofibrillary tangles
3. Discuss challenges associated with drug development for AD. Content will include information on the following:
   • Issues and complications underlying drug development for AD
4. Compare and contrast drug therapies for AD that are in, or have recently completed, late-stage clinical trials. Content will include information on the following:
   • Overview of promising therapies
     • Bapineuzumab
     • Solanezumab
     • Other
   • Review of late-stage failures
     • Semagacestat (development halted in 2010)
     • Tarenflurbil (development halted in 2008)
     • Tramiprosate (development halted as a prescription drug in 2008)
     • Other

If you have questions about the webinar, please email us at: educationservices@hayesinc.com.