Boston, MA (US) and London (UK) – June 7th, 2021. The Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), the venture capital fund investing in, and creating, biotech companies pursuing transformational therapeutic approaches for dementias, welcomes the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of aducanumab (ADUHELM™), an amyloid-targeting therapy for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and congratulates Biogen on this success as a result of their continuous and long-standing R&D efforts and investments in the field.
This approval is an important development for Alzheimer’s patients, where current treatment options are limited, and the unmet medical need is vast. This marks the first new drug approval by the FDA for Alzheimer’s in over 18 years and the first ever for an amyloid targeted therapy.
The approval, which was under the FDA Accelerated Approval pathway, will require Biogen to conduct a new randomized, controlled clinical trial to verify the drug’s clinical benefit. The additional implications of approval under this pathway, including for the use of the reduction of amyloid plaque as a surrogate endpoint, are still being considered.
DDF believes that this approval of aducanumab will encourage renewed efforts and further resources to be committed to the development of new treatments for this devastating disease, as it also highlights the significant room left for improvement. These efforts will extend to the various other forms of dementia, which continue to impose huge demands on healthcare systems and society more broadly.
DDF’s current portfolio of 18 companies is pursuing a rich pipeline of more than 40 highly innovative and diverse programs to transform the treatment of dementias. Given the significant unmet medical need, the focus of our fund will remain on creating and investing in companies working at the frontiers of science with the potential to generate significant returns for our investors by delivering the breakthrough dementia therapies of tomorrow.
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About The Dementia Discovery Fund
The Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) is a £250m specialist venture capital fund investing in, and creating, biotech companies pursuing transformational therapeutic approaches for dementias including Alzheimer’s disease. The DDF brings significant capital and domain expertise to enable talented entrepreneurs to bring therapeutics addressing one of the world’s largest unmet medical needs to the clinic – ultimately aiming to generate significant returns for its investors. The DDF is enabled by its networks and influential group of investors including some leading pharmaceutical companies (Biogen, 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, the UK Government’s Department of Health and Social Care, and the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK. The Fund is managed by SV Health Investors. Learn more at www.TheDDFund.com
About SV Health Investors
SV Health Investors is a leading healthcare fund manager committed to investing in tomorrow’s healthcare breakthroughs. The SV family of funds invests across stages, geographic regions, and sectors, with expertise spanning biotechnology, dementia, healthcare growth, healthcare technology and public equities. With approximately $2.7 billion in assets under management and a truly transatlantic presence with offices in Boston and London, SV has built an extensive network of talented investment professionals and experienced industry veterans. Since its founding in 1993, SV has invested in more than 200 companies with more than 90 of these having achieved successful acquisitions or IPOs.
For more information, please see www.svhealthinvestors.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Dementia Discovery Fund
Laurence Barker (Partner), Jonathan Behr (Partner), Christian Jung (Partner)
tfinn@svhealthinvestors.com
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Sylvie Berrebi, Frazer Hall, Mark Swallow PhD
DDF@citigatedewerogerson.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7638 9571
