Grifols SA (NSDQ: GRFS), a Spanish company, has a promising Alzheimer’s treatment in the works.
... Research has revealed that albumin might have another therapeutic use. Initial studies have shown that the simple blood protein likely slows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
A limited study conducted in 2009 involving three hospitals in Spain, two in the US and 42 patients showed that albumin, administered in conjunction with IVIG and hemapheresis treatment, stabilized or halted the progression of Alzheimer’s. Grifols is in the process of enrolling 350 patients in an FDA Phase 3 clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of that treatment.
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Alzheimer’s disease has become a growing scourge for the elderly, slowly robbing them of their memories and the very essence of who they are. More than 5 million Americans now live with the disease and one in three senior citizens dies with Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia.
The disease is also proving a growing drain on the US economy. Last year, an estimated 15.4 million caregivers, mainly relatives of patients, provided more than 17 billion hours of unpaid care, according to data from the Alzheimer’s Foundation. If it had been compensated, that care would have been valued at $216 billion.
This year, the disease is expected to cost the economy $203 billion. That cost could ultimately rise to $1.2 trillion by 2050, as the number of people over age 65 continues to rise along with the aging Baby Boomers, pushing the number of Alzheimer’s patients to more than 7 million by that year.
The situation is even grimmer when considered from a global perspective, because an estimated 36 million patients worldwide suffered from the disease in 2010. By 2050, more than 115 million patients will get the disease and their care will eat up an estimated 4 percent of global gross domestic product annually.
Meanwhile, the developed world continues getting older and improving standards of living are lengthening lives in emerging markets. Addressing the challenge of Alzheimer’s is increasingly critical.
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