Mayor of London reveals plans for London dementia institute

Boris Johnson is today (October 8th) set to unveil plans to create an "international dementia research institute" in London, which will form part of wider plans to tackle the disease by 2025.

The Mayor of London is expected to urge pharmaceutical companies and charities to work alongside the government in funding and participating in the venture.

He is seeking support for a physical institute where scientists will be able to conduct experiments and trials, while a virtual research network ensuring ideas can be shared freely and easily also forms a key part of the plans.

Mr Johnson said: "An International Dementia Research Institute based here would boost our life sciences’ offer, with enormous potential to deliver benefits for patients, families and other carers, while delivering huge savings to the economy."

Research into dementia is notoriously difficult, with only three new drugs coming to market in the last 15 years, despite more than 100 candidates being developed as a result of billions of pounds of investment.