Editor's Note: Last year, Mel Goodes, the retired Warner-Lambert CEO best known for "greenlighting" Lipitor, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Now an advocate for the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, Goodes spoke of his first year's journey into the disease.

Twenty years ago, the new CEO of Warner-Lambert, Mel Goodes, was faced with his first momentous leadership decision. His company was being described as "amongst the walking dead of the pharmaceutical industry." A lipid-lowering compound looked promising, but its business case was suspect. It would be the fifth drug in its class to market and faced entrenched competition. Most of Goodes' advisors suggested killing the project, but Goodes overruled his staff and authorized a Phase III trial.

Fast forward two decades. The compound became Lipitor. Warner-Lambert became part of Pfizer. Goodes retired before the acquisition and has now found a new calling as an advocate for Alzheimer's drug research.

"I know how long drugs take to develop, and I don't expect medical research to ride to my rescue," says Goodes. "But I'm an optimist, and I firmly believe we can change the course of this disease before it overwhelms us."

Goodes speaks on behalf of the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), part of the emerging R&D "ecosystem" changing the face of drug discovery. ADDF, funded in part by the Lauder family, provides grants to academicians and smaller biotech firms for preclinical and clinical research, with its clinical work focused on moving candidates out of Phase I to Phase II.

Since his diagnosis, Goodes says he has spent a lot of time just contemplating his future. "My question wasn't 'Why me?' or 'Why now?'," he says. "It was really, 'How do I stay relevant in a society where Alzheimer's patients are not supposed to be seen or heard?' "

Relevance came with the invitation to tell his story on behalf of ADDF. Over the past year, Goodes and his wife, Nancy, have been traveling the country, talking about their shared journey into Alzheimer's and the hope offered by expanding drug discovery. "Everywhere we've gone, we've been showered with understanding and affection, and we are grateful for that."

He feels his symptoms most acutely during lively conversations, when, he says, "I sometimes feel like I'm on the sidelines." One of his toughest adjustments, he admits, is asking others for help. "I ran a Fortune 100 company. I was not an 'ask for help' kind of guy."

One year into the journey, Goodes says he "feels great" but understands that Alzheimer's is currently a progressive and always fatal disease.

"It's been a good year, but I don't know how many good years I have left," he said. "So I am just going to wring the last drop out of myself for what I believe in — that we can't afford to run away from this disease. We have to face it, challenge it and conquer it."