The Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) is the world’s largest family of specialized venture capital funds that invests exclusively in companies developing or enabling novel therapeutics for dementia, managed by SV Health Investors. Dementias including Alzheimer’s Disease are arguably the largest unmet medical need with over 55m patients worldwide. With more than $500m raised for this strategy, and offices in London and Boston, DDF capitalizes on global investment opportunities to fulfill its dual mandate of delivering measurable impact and generating significant financial returns. Utilizing its network of venture partners, entrepreneurs, leading scientists, and strategic partners, DDF invests in and creates new biotech companies and provides thought leadership in the field. DDF is enabled by its limited partners including major pharmaceutical companies (Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Co., GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Otsuka (Astex), Pfizer and Takeda), along with AARP, Aegon, Bill Gates, British Patient Capital, NFL Players Association, Quest Diagnostics, UnitedHealth Group, and the non-profits Alzheimer’s Research UK and LifeArc. Learn more at www.ddf.vc.

Nordic

Alector

Evelo Biosciences

Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF)

An estimated 11m people were living with #Parkinson’sdisease in 2023, making it the second most common neurodegenerative disease and yet currently the only treatments available only provide symptomatic relief and are unable to halt or reverse disease progression. 
 
On #WorldParkinson’sDay, we are pleased to recognise the companies within SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF)'s portfolio developing innovative therapeutic solutions to this devastating disease; Amphista Therapeutics Limited is unlocking new possibilities by using its CNS-penetrant protein degrader molecules with class-leading physicochemical properties, Cerevance is harnessing its proprietary NETSeq platform to identify novel, genetically validated targets for CNS diseases and expects to have data from its Phase 2 monotherapy study in patients with early Parkinson's later this year, DDF-created Endlyz UK Limited is developing small molecules to restore endo-lysosomal function and reverse neurodegeneration in PD and other dementias and Nitrase Therapeutics is developing an antibody that targets pathological nitrated alpha synuclein, one of the proteins implicated in Parkinson’s disease progression.

Jonathan Behr, SV Health Investors Partner in the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) team, has been interviewed by Michael Gibney of PharmaVoice on the role VCs play in driving dementia drug development

Specific companies called out in the piece:
Therini Bio, Inc.
Cerevance
Alector
Cumulus Neuroscience
Caraway Therapeutics, Inc.

https://lnkd.in/gsHnJsqT

As we approach the second quarter of 2024; SV Health Investors Partners investing out of the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF); Christian B. Jung, PhD, Laurence Barker and Jonathan Behr give their take on how the year is shaping up and the dementia therapeutics trends to look out for:
 
Happy neuro year: Big pharma investment in neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and ALS is likely to increase over the coming months. We are at a pivotal point in CNS drug development: recent clinical successes and regulatory approvals have shown the field that it is possible to develop efficacious drugs for neuro indications, including Alzheimer’s. This combined with the significant unmet need and commercial white space, presents a significant opportunity for investors.

Focus on clinical infrastructure: There will be an inevitable expansion of clinical infrastructure to meet the near-term demands of the anti-amyloid drug class, paving the way for future therapeutic approaches in dementia and enabling more rapid adoption.

It’s set to be a novel year: Recent improvements in the understanding of the mechanistic basis of neurodegenerative disease and novel drug discovery platforms have yielded the next generation of therapeutics. In 2024, several clinical trial results are expected to unveil the potential effectiveness of these novel approaches.

The tide is starting to turn for venture financing: The market is starting to improve for quality companies; we see renewed interest in first financings for innovative NewCos and for companies that will deliver clinical data within the financing round.
 
If you want to read more about our thoughts for the year ahead and learn about the DDF, then check out the website. https://lnkd.in/gSejm8A7

Amathus Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing novel treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. The company leverages its proprietary computational platform to identify and advance new therapeutic candidates for central nervous system disorders.

VC:DDF

Amathus Therapeutics

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