On November 22, 2021, Biogen, the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA) and Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) launched a report evaluating 10 European countries on how well they are addressing Alzheimer’s disease. The development costs of the 2021 Alzheimer’s Innovation Readiness Index (AIRI) were funded by Biogen. The 2021 AIRI was created in partnership with GCOA and ADI. It is the fourth such collaboration between GCOA and ADI and the first to focus solely on Europe.

The Index was created based on extensive desk research of more than 120 metrics, expert interviews, and survey responses. The main findings include:

• COVID-19 has disrupted implementation, renewal, and funding of national plans
• Data consolidation is a large gap, with countries struggling to establish or develop systems to collect data across the care pathway
• European governments continue to underfund research on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias
• Widespread variation within countries creates a postcode lottery in determining access to care
• Care pathways remain difficult to navigate for people living with dementia, caregivers, and healthcare professionals
• Informal caregivers continue to shoulder the brunt of caregiving responsibilities
• Most governments do not have sustained funding to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias