Opinion: STAT+: Dementia finally has a business model

STAT PlusOpinionNeurotransmissions Dementia finally has a business model Though treatments and diagnostics are exciting, the big takeaway from AAIC2026 is an economic message Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Jason KarlawishJuly 28, 2026 Karlawish is a professor of medicine, medical ethics, health policy, and neurology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, co-director of the Penn Memory Center, and executive producer of the “Age of Aging” podcast. In the nine years since my last visit to the Docklands’ Excel conference center for the 2017 annual Alzheimer Association International Conference, or AAIC, little of London’s infrastructure has changed. I traveled via the same low-ceilinged, clattering trains with signs advising riders to “mind the gap” and “mind the step.” The center has the same weird jack-o’-lantern-esque façade and forgettable restaurants and hotels. I was even here for the same conference. Same meeting, in the same place, but what transpired was quite different. In just nine years, how we think about the aging brain has transformed.Advertisement One moment captured this. It was a speaker’s remark at a breakfast meeting convened by the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative. The 5-year-old organization describes itself as “uniting leading organizations worldwide to build an innovation ecosystem that will accelerate breakthroughs, develop and scale promising solutions and equip every healthcare system to end Alzheimer’s disease everywhere.” STAT+ Exclusive Story Already have an account? Log in This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers Unlock this article — plus in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and news alerts. Already have an account? Log in Monthly $39 Totals $468 per year $39/month Get Started Totals $468 per year Starter $30 for 3 months, then $399/year $30 for 3 months Get Started Then $399/year Annual $399 Save 15% $399/year Get Started Save 15% 11+ Users Custom Savings start at 25%! Request A Quote Request A Quote Savings start at 25%! 2-10 Users $300 Annually per user $300/year Get Started $300 Annually per user View All Plans To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+. Subscribe Log In dementia, STAT+ Submit a correction requestReprints Jason Karlawish Newsletter The smartest thinkers in life sciences on what's happening — and what's to come Recommended First Opinion July 27, 2026 How midwives like me can help fight medical misinformation First Opinion July 27, 2026 E-bikes, e-scooters are a burgeoning pediatric public health emergency Advertisement First Opinion July 24, 2026 I led the FDA’s food safety and nutrition center. Here’s what people are missing about the cyclospora outbreak First Opinion July 24, 2026 I may be one of the last middle-class medical students who could afford to become a doctor First Opinion July 24, 2026 The U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain problem is not about China Subscriber Picks