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Pharmaceutical Giant Pfizer Announces End to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Research

Pfizer, the world’s third-largest pharmaceutical company, recently announced that it is abandoning research for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease treatments.

The decision, which will lay off hundreds of research positions throughout the pharmaceutical titan, crushes the hopes of millions suffering from these neurological disorders, and now their dreams of finding a medication won’t likely come to fruition.

“As a result of a recent comprehensive review, we have made the decision to end our neuroscience discovery and early development efforts and re-allocate [spending] to those areas where we have strong scientific leadership, and that will allow us to provide the greatest impact for patients,” the company declared in a statement to NPR.

Job eliminations will likely happen in the next few months primarily in Massachusetts and Connecticut. However, Pfizer will continue research into rare neurological diseases and expects to launch a venture fund in the name of neuroscience.

But to the public, these plans won’t replace the lay off of near 300 neuroscientists and associated staff in an organization that proudly claims itself as “the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical company.”

“Any decision impacting colleagues is difficult,” the company’s statement reads.

“However, we believe this will best position the company to bring meaningful new therapies to market, and will bring the most value for shareholders and patients.”

Naturally, ‘value’ for shareholders is a separate entity entirely; but for patients, particularly those struggling with neurological diseases and their families, it’s certainly another, something critics of Pfizer’s decision are loudly making clear.

 

“[W]ith no new drug for dementia in the last 15 years, this will come as a heavy blow to the estimated 46.8 million people currently living with the condition across the globe,” says the head of research at the UK’s Alzheimer’s Society, James Pickett.

“Every three seconds someone in the world develops dementia and, with this number set to rise, there has never been a more important time for such life-saving research.”

You can read the full article here.

Disclaimer

The information on Alzheimers.help is intended for informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice.  Please contact your medical professional about specific questions you may have about Alzheimer’s and Dementia diseases.

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