AD/PD 2025 Reflections: Translating Discovery into Clinical Impact

A highlight was the annual Alzheimer’s drug pipeline review by Jeffrey Cummings, which offered a comprehensive and forward-looking snapshot of where the field is headed. This year, there was notable attention on repurposed anti-inflammatory compounds, further strengthening the case for immune modulation as a viable therapeutic avenue in Alzheimer’s disease.

The conference also put a spotlight on therapies already approved in the United States but not yet adopted in Europe, sparking important conversations about access, regulatory divergence, and the pace of implementation across regions. These discussions emphasized the need for global alignment in translating innovation into clinical practice.

Important differences in sex-based biology—and how they relate to increased vulnerability to AD among females—were also discussed, reinforcing the urgent need to tailor prevention and treatment strategies based on sex and gender differences in disease risk and progression.

In the biomarker space, we saw exciting progress across proteomics (a field dedicated to measuring all the proteins in a sample simultaneously) and fluid markers, including novel MTBR-243, with promising candidates for early detection and stratification being shared.

Digital biomarkers were also front and center. In a particularly impactful talk, Rhoda Au described digital biomarkers as “the new blood,” pointing to their scalability and potential to enable continuous, real-time monitoring of brain health—a paradigm shift in how we think about early detection and long-term disease management.

Other highlight sessions included a forum on integrating fluid and imaging biomarkers with digital tools and AI, as well as a session on incorporating biomarkers into routine patient care to support timely diagnosis. There was a strong overarching focus on how diagnostics can be effectively integrated and implemented to realize their full potential in real-world clinical settings.

REAL AD was proud to contribute to this growing momentum. Project Manager Iris Bosch presented a poster on the REAL AD study, highlighting the challenges and achievements of conducting a fully remote preclinical Alzheimer’s disease screening study. The presentation focused on three key themes:

• Multi-stakeholder collaboration across research, healthcare, public, and private sectors
• Operational insights into running a fully remote study—from setup to data collection
• Strategies to maintain participant engagement and minimize dropout over time

David Berron shared early findings from analyses using neotiv cognitive performance data.

In the session Fluid Biomarkers and Imaging, Dr. Sebastian Palmqvist (Lund University) and Dr. Michael Schöll (University of Gothenburg, study leader, REAL AD) shared new insights into the application of fluid biomarkers alongside neuroimaging. Dr. Palmqvist presented findings from a study evaluating a fully automated blood test in both primary and secondary care settings. Dr. Schöll presented preliminary baseline results from the REAL AD study. These initial findings underscore the potential of combining fluid biomarkers with digital tools to enhance early detection and monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease. Looking ahead, Dr. Schöll emphasized the importance of longitudinal data to assess the predictive value of these biomarkers over time and their role in guiding therapeutic interventions.

Both speakers stressed the critical need to translate biomarker discoveries into clinical practice. Their presentations underscored the potential of combining fluid biomarkers with imaging and digital tools to create a comprehensive, accessible, and effective diagnostic framework for Alzheimer’s disease.

The session Biomarkers in Clinical Use Across Dementias further illustrated the growing acceptance and clinical relevance of biomarkers across a broader range of neurodegenerative conditions. Kaj Blennow’s talk on the integration of blood and CSF biomarkers in the diagnostic workflow of patients with early cognitive symptoms emphasized the real-world utility of these tools and how they are reshaping early diagnostic pathways.

These presentations from the REAL AD team provided exciting initial insights, and we look forward to sharing more results once analyses are complete.

Overall, AD/PD 2025 served as a powerful reminder that innovation in Alzheimer’s research is accelerating—and that the challenge now lies in translating these advances into equitable, effective primary care. At REAL AD, we remain committed to driving that translation forward through collaboration and a patient-focused mission.