Arizona Launches $74M Study to Prevent Alzheimer's Disease

Researchers in Arizona just launched a $74.5 million study that could change everything we know about preventing Alzheimer's disease.

Banner Health is testing whether combination medications can prevent Alzheimer's in people at exceptionally high genetic risk in Colombia. The landmark study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, represents one of the most ambitious prevention trials ever attempted for the disease that affects more than 6 million Americans.

The work is part of Banner's $80.5 million research enterprise that conducted 1,300 clinical studies across Arizona in 2025. Local families are getting early access to life-saving treatments that won't reach the broader market for years.

Dr. Corey Casper, Banner's chief research officer, says the mission is clear. "We're expediting breakthrough therapies to Arizona families, often years before they become widely available, while fostering innovation that directly benefits the communities we serve."

The research delivered real wins for patients in 2025. Banner pioneered the first FDA-approved device for a severe heart valve condition that previously required open-heart surgery, affecting up to 30 percent of elderly Americans.

Researchers also developed the first reliable early detection method for ovarian cancer in collaboration with University of Arizona partners. When caught early, survival rates jump from 32 percent to 92 percent.

Banner enrolled more participants in the NIH All of Us Research Program than any site nationwide since it began. More than 89,000 people from Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming joined, including nearly 70 percent of all pediatric participants across the country.

The research spans nearly every major disease area through partnerships with MD Anderson Cancer Center, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins University and Arizona State University. Banner researchers published 315 scientific studies in 2025 and shared 16,389 brain tissue samples with scientists in 10 countries.

The Ripple Effect

Banner's research enterprise does more than advance medicine. It supports 371 high-skilled jobs and attracts tens of millions in federal research dollars to Arizona annually, positioning the state as a destination for medical talent and innovation.

The work includes co-leading a $15.3 million study to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy in living patients for the first time using blood biomarkers and brain imaging. Another $21.6 million study explores how high blood pressure contributes to brain disease and dementia risk.

Amy Perry, Banner Health's CEO, says the impact extends beyond the lab. "By creating high-skilled jobs, attracting federal research dollars to our state, and ensuring our communities benefit from medical breakthroughs first, we're strengthening Arizona's economy."

Banner operates one of the few facilities worldwide where biomarker blood tests for brain diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Lewy body dementia are developed for large-scale use. The team conducted 158,470 biomarker tests for collaborators worldwide in 2025.

Arizona families facing some of medicine's toughest challenges now have hope years before the rest of the country, and the breakthroughs happening in their backyard are reaching patients around the world.