Manatee County's Roskamp Institute announces new clinic for Alzheimer's treatment

Apr. 24—MANATEE COUNTY — Within a few months, scientists at the Manatee County-based Roskamp Institute plan to start administering a new drug to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

While not a cure, Leqembi, an FDA-approved Alzheimer's drug, has been shown to slow the rate of decline in patients. Alzheimer's is a common form of dementia that progressively worsens a patient's memory, thinking and language ability.

Clinical trials showed a significantly lower rate of decline for patients receiving Leqembi than patients receiving a placebo.

On Wednesday, Dr. Fiona Crawford, president and CEO of Roskamp Institute, 2040 Whitfield Ave., announced a $9 million campaign for a 10,000-square-foot expansion of the campus to host the infusion clinic and other programs.

But the launch of the infusion program won't be delayed because of fundraising efforts.

Infusions could start by late summer and groundbreaking for the expanded facilities could come later this year. Completion should be within two years of the start of construction, Crawford said.

Roskamp Institute plans expansion

The Bishop-Parker Foundation provided a $1.5 million grant to the Roskamp capital campaign. A $100,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota and donations from the Roskamp family and friends helped push the total collected to more than $4 million, Crawford said.

The capital campaign will help Roskamp update and expand its research laboratory and clinical facilities and ramp up its research efforts, she said.

Roskamp's planned Bishop-Parker Clinic will enable Roskamp to assess, treat and support more than 10,000 patients a year, Wendy Deming, CEO of the Bishop-Parker Foundation, said Wednesday.

"Today is about celebrating the collaborative spirit and tireless dedication of everyone involved in this initiative. It's about honoring the individuals and families impacted by these disorders and reaffirming our unwavering commitment to supporting them on this journey, Deming said.

Alzheimer's becoming more common

More people are getting Alzheimer's Disease — and many at a younger age. Alzheimer's is sometimes seen in patients in their 40s and 50s.

"Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. Current estimates are that about 5.8 million people in the United States have Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, including 5.6 million aged 65 and older and about 200,000 under age 65 with younger-onset Alzheimer's," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It's not only the Alzheimer's patients who are affected.

"In 2023, 11.5 million family members and other caregivers of people living with Alzheimer's or other dementia provided an estimated 18.4 billion hours of unpaid help. On average,this represents nearly 31 hours of care per caregiver per week," according to the Alzheimer's Association.

Crawford put it in perspective: Anyone who hasn't been touched by traumatic brain injury, a neurological disorder or Alzheimer's "has been leading a charmed life."

How Leqembi works

Leqembi, produced and marketed by Biogen and Eisai, is a monoclonal antibody given by infusion every two weeks.

Scientists say the build-up of amyloid, a small protein, causes the loss of brain cells and is a driver of Alzheimer's.

Leqembi has been shown to be efficient at removing certain types of amyloid from the brain.

With the use of Leqembi, researchers saw a slowing in the rate of decline in memory, language and daily living activities, including self-care and social and personal interactions.

Research by Dr. Mike Mullan and Crawford in the United Kingdom in the 1990s showed that a gene mutation made some people susceptible to Alzheimer's due to the accumulation of the amyloid protein in the brain.

Mullan was able to confirm the theory after one of his patients died from Alzheimer's at 54. A lab study of the brain showed a buildup of amyloid in the brain that would have led to the man's Alzheimer's.

Mullan hoped that the discovery would quickly lead to a cure or preventative for Alzheimer's.

"We thought that this would be easy. That was 30 years ago, and many, many failed drugs later," Mullan told the Bradenton Herald in 2023. "Amyloid turns out to be tricky."

What Leqembi is not

Leqembi is not a cure for Alzheimer's.

It is not suitable for everyone. People most likely to benefit are those in the mild stage of the disease or in the stage before that, called mild cognitive impairment.

"Patients have to undergo initial MRI screening to look for brain abnormalities that may preclude the use of the drug, and subsequent MRI screening (at 2, 3 and 6.5 months) following initial treatment in order to ensure a potentially serious side effect does not occur," Mullan said in a fact sheet handed out Wednesday at the capital campaign press conference.

"In particular, amyloid related imaging abnormalities are a known complication of amyloid-lowering antibody drugs," the Mullan fact sheet said.

Rare consequences can involve brain swelling or bleeding.

"Although these complications are rare, they can lead to severe consequences; therefore their potential occurrence must be carefully monitored," the fact sheet said.

Leqembi is "clearly only one part of what will need to be a much broader treatment program in the future to further slow the disease progression and even potentially halt its advancement completely," the fact sheet said.

About Roskamp Institute

Roskamp Institute was founded in 2003 by Robert and Diane Roskamp and Fiona Crawford and Michael Mullan.

Fields of study include Alzheimer's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, Gulf War Illness and red tide.

How to contribute

Robert Roskamp, founder of the Roskamp Foundation, said that expansion plans will help with badly needed research.

"There is so much to be done," he said citing research needed also for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

For information on how to contribute to the Roskamp Institute capital campaign, call (941) 752-2949 or visit https://www.roskampinstitute.org/donate/.

This story was originally published April 24, 2024, 4:10 PM.

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