Sen. Collins spearheads efforts to fund Alzheimer’s research

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is leading a bipartisan group of senators working to pass two bills that would fund research, prevention and strategic planning to combat Alzheimer’s disease.

“We have made tremendous progress in recent years to boost funding for Alzheimer’s research, which holds great promise to end this disease that has had a devastating effect on millions of Americans and their families,” Collins said in a written statement. Collins is a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. “The two bills we are introducing will maintain our momentum and make sure that we do not take our foot off the pedal just as our investments in basic research are beginning to translate into potential new treatments.”

The Food and Drug Administration has approved medications for Alzheimer’s – including Leqembi, which has the potential to slow progression of the disease. But so far, treatments for the disease are not very robust, and there is no cure for Alzheimer’s.

The bills would reauthorize laws that are set to expire in 2025, including the National Alzheimer’s Project Act and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act, extending them until 2035. There is not yet a price tag on how much the bills would cost.

Co-sponsoring the bills with Collins are U.S. Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va.; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; Ed Markey, D-Mass.; Jerry Moran, R-Kansas; Bob Menendez, D-N.J.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.