Improving Care for Older Adults

In Their Own Words

Lessons from Landmark Drug Revolutions for the Future of Alzheimer’s Treatment

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Model of a brain next to a blank pill bottle with a doctor in the background.

This essay originally appeared in STAT News on December 22, 2025 as part of the Neurotransmissions column.

In the weeks leading up to Dec. 3, I imagined a fantastic headline: “Ozempic treats Alzheimer’s disease.”

On that day, at the CtAD 2025 meeting (CtAD stands for Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease), in the Sapphire Ballroom of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel, Novo Nordisk would present to the assembly of scientists and biopharma executives the results of its EVOKE studies, two clinical trials testing whether semaglutide can treat people with early-stage symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. Semaglutide is, of course, the chemical name for the brand Ozempic, FDA labeled for the treatment of diabetes and to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events, but widely known as a drug for obesity.  

Read the full essay here.

Author

Jason Karlawish, MD

Professor, Medicine and Professor, Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine; Co-Director, Penn Memory Center

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