Neurologists and researchers have expressed optimism that new and effective treatments for all stages of Alzheimer’s disease could be on the horizon, as an annual review of the drug pipeline has shown a 9% increase in the number being investigated.1
The annual report has been running since 2016 and is conducted by Jeffrey Cummings, a neurologist and research professor at the University of Nevada, who has consulted for dozens of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The 2025 pipeline review found that there were 182 clinical trials assessing 138 drugs as at 1 January.
This was up from 164 trials assessing 127 drugs in 2024. An additional 56 trials have been added to the pipeline in the past year, while 25 trials were completed, eight were terminated, and eight became of “unknown status”—meaning no activity had been registered on clinicaltrials.gov in the past two years.
The report also noted the “marked increase” in phase 1 trials over the last year, with …
