Eisai Co., Ltd. and the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) announced the launch of a joint post-doctoral programme to support the advancement of novel dementia research. This first-of-its-kind industry collaboration for the UK DRI aims to deliver innovative research that may translate into improvements in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of all types of dementia.

There are an estimated approximately 50 million dementia patients worldwide. As the ageing of the global population gathers pace, the number of dementia patients worldwide is expected to follow this trend, with the total number of people with dementia projected to reach 82 million in 2030 and 152 million in 2050.

To combat this global issue the UK DRI draws together world-leading expertise into a single national institute that conducts research into all aspects of dementia including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, and Huntington's disease. Under this joint programme, a grant will be provided to post-doctoral researchers engaged in dementia research from 2019 to 2023.

Researchers will benefit from both the UK DRI's state-of-the-art research facilities and Eisai's drug discovery and translational expertise, and will support the work of the organisation in striving to elucidate novel drug discovery targets and mechanisms, develop novel dementia models, and accelerate the linkage of these research results to diagnostics, treatment and care.