The Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) has announced a $50-million investment from Bill Gates.
The investment is Gates’ first to accelerate progress toward disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.
The DDF, managed by SV Health, is a venture fund focused entirely on discovering and developing novel therapies for dementia and was formed through the collaboration of leading pharmaceutical companies, the UK Department of Health and the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Since its launch in October 2015, the DDF has made significant progress building an initial portfolio of 12 investments in drug discovery companies and projects predominantly in the UK and US in areas including microglial biology and inflammation, mitochondrial dynamics, trafficking and membrane biology and synaptic physiology and function.
The DDF team believes there is a significant opportunity to develop dementia drugs targeting biological pathways beyond the prevailing amyloid beta hypothesis and to apply insights from areas such as oncology and immunology to develop novel drugs targeting these other biological pathways that may drive different forms of dementia.
Kate Bingham, managing partner of SV, comments: “Our ambition at launch was to identify and deliver new drug approaches for tackling dementia. Two years on, the DDF has made significant strides towards achieving that, attracting global investment and some of the most impressive teams, companies and entrepreneurs working in neurodegeneration research. In the first example of its kind in dementia, the DDF has now brought together funding from the private sector, charity and industry, and we’re especially pleased to get so much interest from the US in a British fund.
“We welcome Bill Gates’ involvement as we collaborate to solve one of the biggest issues in global healthcare. We look forward to the growing deal flow and next stages of development in the companies that the fund supports.”
Gates adds: “I believe we are at a turning point in Alzheimer’s research and development, which the Dementia Discovery Fund is playing an important role in by exploring new approaches to treat the disease. This is a frontier where we can dramatically improve human life. It’s a miracle that people are living so much longer, but longer life expectancies alone are not enough. People should be able to enjoy their later years – and we need a breakthrough in Alzheimer’s to fulfil that. I’m excited to join the fight and can’t wait to see what happens next.”
Hilary Evans-Newton, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, says: “The gravity of the impact of dementia increases every day and the millions affected worldwide desperately need effective treatment options. We’re seeing a step change in global ambitions around tackling dementia, both in understanding the diseases behind the condition and translating the most innovative ideas towards new therapies. I believe that the DDF offers an ideal approach for accelerating the search for new treatments, investing in nimble and innovative drug discovery work in small, focused projects and companies, which have the advantage of being cost and time effective. We welcome today’s fresh investment in the DDF – with growing investment and advancing science across the world, we are on the cusp of making significant breakthroughs for people with dementia and their families.”