Alzheimer’s disease has long been one of Europe’s most complex and pressing health challenges. With a rapidly ageing population and around 10 million people currently living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias across Europe,[1] its impact is felt not only by patients, but also by families, carers, health systems and societies at large. For many years, the policy debate focused on preparing for change – for new scientific insights, for innovation, and for the possibility that the course of the disease could one day be modified. 

As we start 2026, reflecting on the year just gone, I was glad to see that the debate finally began to shift. 

The past year marked an important inflection point in Europe’s approach to Alzheimer’s disease. Scientific progress continued to advance, and crucially, Europe moved from a position of anticipation to one of real-world decision-making. The first regulatory approvals of disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer’s disease underscored a simple but profound truth: innovation is no longer a future scenario. It is here, and health systems must now be ready to deliver it. At the same time, these developments highlighted the importance of ensuring that regulatory experience today helps pave the way for further innovations currently in development. 

This shift has also been reflected at political level. In September 2025, the European Parliament held a plenary debate on Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, calling for a more structured and coordinated European response. That debate sent a clear signal that Alzheimer’s is no longer seen solely as a long-term societal challenge, but as a policy issue requiring action, alignment and leadership at EU level. 

Against this backdrop, the work of the EFPIA Alzheimer’s Disease Platform over the past year focused on one central question: how can Europe ensure that scientific progress translates into meaningful benefits for patients, equitably and sustainably? 

In 2025 the Platform had several successes bringing together industry, policymakers, experts and stakeholders to move the conversation forward. This included high-level discussions during EFPIA Life Sciences Week, a dedicated webinar in December on scaling innovation in Alzheimer’s care, and developing a report on best practices in proactive, data-informed, and person-centred models of Alzheimer’s care across Europe. The aim has been to support a more informed and practical policy discussion – one that looks beyond individual innovations to the systems required to make them work. 

A key focus going into the next phase of this work will be health system readiness. Early detection and diagnosis, access to appropriate diagnostic tools, capacity for monitoring and follow-up, and the organisation of care pathways are not abstract policy concepts. They are the foundations on which effective Alzheimer’s care must be built. 

Across Europe, healthcare systems are already piloting new approaches – from strengthening primary-care-led detection pathways to expanding the use of multidisciplinary memory clinics and digital assessment tools – to better identify, diagnose and support people at earlier stages of disease. Identifying, highlighting and learning from these experiences has been a core element of the Platform’s work over the past year. 

At the same time, the past year has underlined that significant policy, regulatory and access-related challenges remain. Readiness across Europe is uneven. Diagnostic capacity varies widely between and within Member States. Regulatory, reimbursement and access pathways remain complex and fragmented, raising difficult questions about capacity, coordination and sustainability for those responsible for implementation. 

Encouragingly, there are also signs of progress in how these challenges are being addressed. In December, regulators, patients, healthcare professionals, payers and industry came together at a joint HMA–EMA multi-stakeholder workshop on patient registries in Alzheimer’s disease – a practical example of cross-stakeholder engagement aimed at strengthening real-world evidence generation and long-term follow-up. Such initiatives demonstrate the value of structured dialogue and shared problem-solving across the system. 

Looking ahead, the next phase of Europe’s Alzheimer’s response must focus on delivery. This means ensuring that existing regulatory decisions translate into timely and appropriate patient access, while also creating the conditions for future innovations to follow – through close engagement with regulators, health technology assessment bodies, payers, doctors, and patients. It also means recognising where EU-level action can add value, by supporting coordination, shared frameworks and learning across Member States, while delivery remains rooted in national health systems. 

Europe now stands at a decisive moment – and has a choice to make. Scientific advances are opening new possibilities in Alzheimer’s care, and political attention is increasingly aligned with that reality. Turning opportunity into impact will require sustained collaboration, practical implementation and a clear focus on patients and their families. 

The EFPIA Alzheimer’s Disease Platform remains optimistic about what can be achieved and committed to contributing constructively to this effort – working with policymakers, regulators and other stakeholders to help ensure that progress in Alzheimer’s disease translates into better outcomes for people across Europe, now and in the years ahead. 

References:

[1] Alzheimer Europe, Dementia in Europe, Yearbook 2019, https://www.alzheimer-europe.org/Publications/Dementia-in-Europe-Yearbooks