Aenne Burda Award Ceremony 2022

“My dream, my passion, my daily motivation is to find a cure for Alzheimer”, Andrea Pfeifer, the recipient of the 2022 Aenne Burda Award, says in her acceptance speech. The disease “takes away your memory, your talents, your personality, your independence, your way to live – and finally, your life”.

A growing number of people will be affected by dementia, she points out. But Pfeifer also emphasizes that she’s hopeful “because I think we are really on a crossroad of science”.

Companies like her own, AC Immune, are coming up with new diagnostics, “which allow you to detect the disease before symptoms arise – 10 to 20 years before”, she says. Which is important because once the brain cells are damaged, “there’s no way back”.

Just recently, AC Immune, was able to visualize “the first image of a human brain carrying the protein which actually causes Parkinson’s”, Pfeifer announces in her speech. This is important because it paves the way to “early diagnostic, meaning early treatment, and potentially prevention”.

Watch the video to find out more.