(27 November 2017) – Reed Smith was pleased to advise Alzheimer’s Society, the UK’s leading support and research charity for people with dementia, on its involvement in the establishment of the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI), a joint £250 million project with the UK’s Medical Research Council (MRC) and Alzheimer’s Research UK. The UK DRI will carry out vital research into the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of dementia. Dementia affects 47 million people globally with nearly 10 million new cases diagnosed each year.
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The UK DRI will bring together the expertise of over 400 scientists in a rich, varied and integrated programme of research relevant to all forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, Huntington’s disease and beyond. Centred on the need for innovative, early-stage science to advance understanding of how dementia develops and progresses, the UK DRI aims to bring new treatments to people with dementia faster.

Comprising six centres at universities across the UK with its headquarters at University College London (UCL), and connecting with dementia research bodies and charity-led initiatives, the UK DRI will engender shared scientific inspiration across the UK while making the most of cutting-edge local tools and infrastructure.