[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7702-7703]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I rise to discuss the new FDA 
Commissioner, or, more specifically, the role that the agency must play 
in tackling one of the biggest health crises of our day, one that I 
have personal experience with. Unless we act decisively, this crisis 
will only grow in terms of the staggering human and economic costs in 
the future.
  That crisis is the Alzheimer's epidemic in this Nation. The reason I 
am talking about Alzheimer's is it is truly a terrible condition that 
affects patients, their families, and communities across the Nation. I 
learned firsthand about Alzheimer's disease when my mother was robbed 
of many of her Golden Years at a relatively early age, in her 
seventies.
  Currently, more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's, 
including an estimated 160,000 in my own State of North Carolina. 
Estimates project the number of Alzheimer's patients to grow to 16 
million by 2050, with an annual cost of more than $1 trillion to the 
healthcare system.
  Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United 
States.

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It is a current and growing problem. It is the only top 10 disease for 
causes of death that cannot be prevented. It can't be cured. We can't 
even slow the pace of the disease. Simply put, we need a war on 
Alzheimer's disease like we have on cancer.
  As a country, we must take the fight to this awful disease. This 
should be one of our highest priorities, to support the discovery and 
development of new medicines for the millions of patients who currently 
have Alzheimer's and the millions more who may develop it in the 
future. We need medicines to slow the progression of the disease. We 
need medicines to reverse its affects. We need medicines to cure 
Alzheimer's disease. One day, we need medicines to prevent it in the 
first place.
  That is where the FDA comes in. The new Commissioner must make 
Alzheimer's an urgent priority. Obviously, the science of developing 
new medicines and technologies is complicated under any circumstances. 
Those challenges are only compounded by the fact that we still do not 
fully understand the disease, its causes, or how to stop it, but the 
FDA does hard things and they often do them very well.
  The new Commissioner must ask tough questions of the agency: Are they 
doing everything they possibly can to encourage the development of safe 
and effective new drugs for Alzheimer's? Are they using all the tools 
at their disposal and using them flexibly to advance this goal? Do they 
have the right policies to be facilitators of and not barriers to 
important efforts to innovate in this space?
  I recently visited with Dr. Gottlieb in my office and was pleased to 
hear the battle against Alzheimer's is a mission-critical item for him. 
I assume that pervades the FDA. I want to be clear. I do not know the 
answers to the questions related to FDA's specific regulatory policies 
related to Alzheimer's.
  I think those determinations are best left to scientific and medical 
experts, but I know the status quo, the current standard of care, and 
the set of FDA-approved treatment options is not enough for patients or 
our Nation. Inaction is not acceptable. America is at its finest when 
we come together to do big things. Now is the time to commit to 
stopping the suffering and death from Alzheimer's.
  The FDA cannot do this alone. This is an all-hands-on-deck kind of 
battle, but FDA will play a critical role in tackling this vital public 
health priority. I was pleased to vote for Dr. Gottlieb's confirmation 
yesterday. I look forward to working with him to ensure that we are 
doing everything we can to defeat Alzheimer's. For those of us who have 
been and will continue to be Alzheimer's caretakers, I hope we will see 
a cure in our lifetime. Those who are afflicted by the disease deserve 
it. It is a fiscal crisis we can avert. With the right focus by the FDA 
and this Congress, I am absolutely convinced this is a disease we can 
take the war to and win the war in our lifetime in the near future.
  I encourage the FDA and all of my Members to stand in battling this 
terrible disease so we can end it once and for all.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.

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