Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an overwhelming condition that presents unique challenges to people living with AD (PLWA), their loved ones, their care partners, and the scientific community. These range from lack of understanding of the condition to difficulty in clinical trial recruitment and can impact not only the ways in which PLWA are cared for but also the successful development of novel therapies. As AD’s global impact continues to increase, it is crucial that we, as a community, come together to address this immense public health issue. Recognising this, the Finding Alzheimer’s Solutions Together (F.A.S.T.) Council was formed to bring AD patient organisations (POs) and Roche together with the aim of better understanding the perspectives and needs of AD patient communities.
The F.A.S.T. Council provided the opportunity to discuss potential areas for collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry that could help improve the care provided to PLWA and inform scientific breakthroughs. Following the disappointing news in November 2022 that Roche’s investigational molecule for the treatment of AD had failed in its phase III clinical trials, the F.A.S.T. Council met in January 2023 to discuss what the organisations represented wanted and needed from Roche in 2023. The following questions were asked:
• Given the situation, do you want to continue working together in the F.A.S.T. Council?
• If so, what should the focus be given where Roche is in the clinical development process?
• To what extent would you like to remain involved in Roche’s activities?
The group unanimously agreed that it was crucial that Roche supported the publication and dissemination of the learnings, recommendations, and outputs from the F.A.S.T. Council. The group also agreed to continue working with the F.A.S.T. Council with an important focus on research and development, especially on supporting the design and implementation of trials, keeping participants and their study partners at the heart of the program, and focusing on tactics to engage more efficiently with underrepresented populations.
As such, this report represents the conclusion of the F.A.S.T. Council’s work, outlines the learnings gathered over the past three years, and provides recommendations on:
• Best practices to ensure meaningful collaborative working between the pharmaceutical industry and POs
• Optimizing the PLWA and care partner journeys
• Raising awareness and advocating for better care
• Conducting inclusive clinical trials
We hope that the learnings set out in this report will be leveraged and taken forward by other organizations from across the AD community. We sincerely believe that only through collaboration between industry, POs, and the whole AD community will we give ourselves the best chance to improve the lives of PLWA and their care partners, and to discover and operationalize the treatments and diagnostics needed to, ultimately, begin to treat this devastating condition.
The F.A.S.T. Council, is sponsored by Roche and its members include:
