Europe cannot afford to leave Alzheimer’s patients behind

With one of the fastest-aging populations in the world, Europe will never be this young again. By 2050, one in three Europeans will be 65 or older, an age when Alzheimer’s disease risk starts doubling every five years. While breakthrough treatments are changing the trajectory of Alzheimer’s disease in other parts of the world, Europe is lagging in access and investment, cutting many people off from care options that could improve their lives.

A global shift toward early intervention is showing what is possible, with patients starting to be diagnosed in time for treatment to have an impact.[1], [2] Detecting the disease early is like diagnosing cancer at stage one rather than stage four. It can make a profound difference for patients and families in the moments that matter most. Timely treatment can provide more independence, connection and time to make informed choices.

Detecting the disease early is like diagnosing cancer at stage one rather than stage four. It can make a profound difference for patients and families in the moments that matter most.

Worldwide, 23 regulators have approved disease modifying therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, signaling growing confidence in these medicines. Four of the world’s largest economies also provide reimbursement so that cost is not a barrier. Yet in much of Europe, people living with the disease remain unable to access these innovations. Some countries have authorized treatments but failed to provide a reimbursement pathway, creating a two-tiered healthcare system where wealthier patients can afford treatment while others are left behind.

Recent developments in the UK offer a cautiously encouraging signal. The appeal process through the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has acknowledged that the full value of innovation, including the impact on unpaid carers and the broader burden on informal carers, must be part of the conversation. This is a welcome recognition that systems need to evolve. Health technology assessment frameworks were largely designed to measure short-term, direct healthcare costs for acute interventions. They recognize clinical benefit in narrow terms, and overlook the wider impact that early intervention delivers across health and social care systems:[3] fewer years in residential and nursing home care and a reduced burden on unpaid carers. Such considerations matter enormously to patients and families, yet their voice often remains unheard in the decision-making of many European countries.

The cost of this miscalculation compounds. Families are denied treatments that exist today, and future generations inherit health systems ill-equipped for the challenge ahead.

Delay is already costing families and health systems

When systems delay action, the burden doesn’t disappear. It shifts to families and it costs people good days with their loved ones.

Dementia carries the highest global burden of disability, stealing more total years of quality life and independence than any other disease. Its economic toll is staggering, costing Europe 40 percent more than all cancers combined. The vast majority of those costs fall on families and social care. This also increases sharply as the disease progresses, going up by approximately €25,000 more per year as it moves from mild to severe.[4]

Slowing disease progression eases the burden on millions of family members who      put aside their own careers and well-being to look after loved ones as unpaid carers.[5]      Yet the 90 percent of dementia costs that fall outside direct healthcare are routinely excluded from value assessments. 4 Including them would fundamentally change the equation.

New medicines to treat Alzheimer’s disease have achieved efficacy and safety profiles on par with leading cancer and multiple sclerosis treatments, yet they face more skepticism. 4 Part of the problem is that diseases long considered untreatable suffer from underinvestment in care pathways. When treatments finally arrive, it is families who bear the consequences of health systems that are slow to adapt.

This is where leaders can act. When assessing whether these treatments are worth paying for, policymakers must consider the full economic picture, one that captures the long-term value that early intervention delivers, not just short-term direct costs.

Science is moving. Europe can lead or fall behind.

At a time when European leaders are debating competitiveness, biotech leadership and fiscal sustainability, Alzheimer’s disease is not just a health issue. It is a test of whether Europe can adapt its systems to demographic reality, or allow the gap between scientific progress and patient access to widen further.

European policymakers should give people this choice to know and act early. That begins with two priorities: enabling access to innovative diagnostics and treatments within a stronger system of care, and modernizing value assessment so it captures the full benefit of innovation, accounting for long-term savings across health and social care, not just short-term direct costs.

Alzheimer’s disease is not just a health issue. It is a test of whether Europe can adapt its systems to demographic reality, or allow the gap between scientific progress and patient access to widen further.

By expanding diagnosis and access to innovation, Europe can help more people age with dignity, while reinforcing its position as a destination for research, clinical trials      and long-term investment.

Europeans deserve the choice that science now makes possible. If leaders recognize the need for change, the time to act on it is now.

[1] Eckhardt, J. “Breakthroughs Changing The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Alzheimer’s” Forbes (2025) Breakthroughs Changing The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Alzheimer’s (Accessed March 15, 2026)

[2] Beasley, B. “I Caught My Alzheimer’s at 57, Early Enough to Intervene.” The Wall Street Journal (2026). https://www.wsj.com/opinion/i-caught-my-alzheimers-at-57-early-enough-to-intervene-15072207 (Accessed March 15, 2026)

[3] EFPIA. “Taking Action Together to Ensure a Brighter Today and Tomorrow for People with Alzheimer’s Disease.” Position Paper. https://www.efpia.eu/media/412735/taking-action-together-to-ensure-a-better-today-and-tomorrow-for-people-with-alzheimer-s-disease.pdf

[4] Frisoni GB, Aho E, Brayne C, et al. “Alzheimer’s disease outlook: controversies and future directions.” The Lancet, Vol. 406, No. 10510, pp. 1424–1442 (September 2025).

[5] Abi-Saleh N, So D, Molenkamp V. “Addressing the Impact of Alzheimer’s Disease on Care Capacity in the Netherlands: Implications for Health Technology Assessment.” Poster presentation, ISPOR Europe 2025. https://www.ispor.org/heor-resources/presentations-database/presentation-cti/ispor-europe-2025/poster-session-1-2/addressing-the-impact-of-alzheimer-s-disease-on-care-capacity-in-the-netherlands-implications-for-health-technology-assessment

Disclaimer

POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT

• The sponsor is Eli Lilly & Company.
• The entity ultimately controlling the sponsor is Eli Lilly & Company.
• This article calls on European policymakers to reform health technology assessment and reimbursement systems to improve access to Alzheimer’s diagnostics and treatments, explicitly aiming to influence public health policy in Europe.

More information here.