Researchers are exploring whether existing drug treatments could offer new ways to tackle dementia.
It can take over a decade to develop a new dementia treatment from scratch. That is why our scientists are looking at other ways to speed up the search for new treatments. One approach is to study treatments already used for other conditions. This could help move promising ideas forward faster and create more opportunities for people affected by dementia.
In this discussion, Dr Harry Costello and Dr Carla Goddard explore what repurposed drugs are, why this approach is attracting growing interest, and how researchers decide whether a treatment is worth testing. They also discuss how treatments are measured in clinical research, the role of collaboration in speeding up progress, and what this could mean for the future of dementia treatment research.
Speakers
Dr Harry Costello is an academic neuropsychiatrist and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Lecturer at the University College London (UCL) Division of Psychiatry. His research focuses on mood and motivation problems in Alzheimer’s disease and other brain conditions, with a particular focus on depression treatment in Alzheimer’s disease. At this event, he will share how this work connects to the wider search for new dementia treatments, including the potential of repurposed drugs.
Dr Carla Goddard is Clinical Research Manager at Alzheimer’s Research UK. She works in our growing Clinical team, which is helping bring more clinical trials to the UK for dementia. Before joining Alzheimer’s Research UK, she worked across academic, non-profit and industry settings, supporting collaborative research projects and work across the wider health and medicines research system. She will bring a clinical research perspective to the discussion, helping explain how promising ideas move into studies and closer to people.
For more information or questions about the event, please email the Involvement & Engagement team engage@alzheimersresearchuk.org