There are many good reasons to send out reminders, starting with the fact that several million in the US alone suffer from the disease. The drugmaker has, so far, invested $430 million and 350 scientists who have been involved in nearly two dozen projects in an effort to come up with something useful, as indicated in a profile today in The Star-Ledger of New Jersey (full disclosure: the paper owns Pharmalot).

“Unfortunately, I’ve seen it up close,” says Wyeth ceo Bob Essner, who declines to reveal anything further because the person is a family member who is still living. “And when you see it up close, it’s devastating.” And there are other members of the Wyeth team who saw relatives suffer from Alzheimer’s, including Steve Jacobsen, associate director of the amyloid pharmacology group.

Uncharacteristically, Essner has been particularly vocal about drawing attention to the topic. Earlier this year, he appeared before Congress, urging legislators to pass a bill that would double the Alzheimer’s budget at the National Institutes of Health to $1.3 billion a year, from $640 million. Bob also wants the FDA to grant priority review to Alzheimer’s drugs - permission to get them out the door faster in the same way that AIDS treatments are given preference.

In fact, the usually media-shy ceo appears to be making Alzheimer’s research his cause celebre. He granted a similar interview two months ago to The New York Times, which also profiled Wyeth’s undertaking. Of course, given Wyeth’s recent setbacks in convincing the FDA to approve new drugs for schizophrenia, depression and menopausal hot flashes, Essner may also feel a renewed sense of urgency to talk up the pipeline any chance he can - and hope that Wall Street has a short memory.