This Alzheimer’s patient stars in a multimillion-dollar ad campaign for pharma. He may soon be homeless
His face is everywhere: in TV commercials during late-night comedy shows, in the pages of Wired and Politico, on a billboard at the airport near Washington, D.C.
Brian Kursonis, who was diagnosed last year with early-onset Alzheimer’s at age 55, is a star of the drug industry’s “Go Boldly” campaign — a sophisticated PR push, costing tens of millions a year, to highlight pharma’s commitment to develop cures for dreaded diseases.
The ads might improve pharma’s battered reputation. But behind the soft lighting and inspiring music, the patient who’s helping anchor the campaign says his life is falling apart.
He is living alone, after a nine-year relationship broke up as his memory deteriorated. He had to give away his beloved dogs. He loves fly-fishing, but forgets how.
And he is fast running out of money.
Kursonis hopes he can find a way to earn a living as an advocate, but if money doesn’t come in soon, he won’t be able to make the December rent on his spartan apartment in a
