We invest in therapeutics to defeat dementia.

Dementia Discovery Fund

The Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), managed by SV Health Investors, is the world’s largest family of specialized venture capital funds that invests exclusively in companies developing or enabling novel therapeutics for dementia. 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.
  • Our approach

    We seek companies led by bold entrepreneurs, across the full spectrum of company and asset stage opportunities. Where we do not see others leading the way to create companies informed by cutting edge science that can make a difference to dementia patients, we will build those companies ourselves, assisted by our bench of experienced entrepreneurs and company creators.

  • History

    Incorporated in 2015 as the first and leading dementia focused VC, the first Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF-1) saw its final close at £250 million in 2018 making the DDF the world’s largest venture capital fund focused on discovering and developing novel disease-modifying therapeutics for all forms of dementia. Seven leading pharmaceutical companies – Biogen, Eli Lilly and Company, 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’s Department of Health and Social Care, and the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK (among others) have invested in the DDF.

    Advised by SV Health Investors (SV), a leading life sciences venture capital and growth equity firm, the investment and strategic support the DDF can provide is unrivalled. SV has been investing in biotech companies for over 25 years and brings a proven track record of identifying early-stage research opportunities and supporting their development into novel medicines.

    The DDF has a mandate to interrogate novel hypotheses and expand the breadth of targets and mechanisms in development for dementia therapies over the life of the fund. This mandate enables the DDF to invest in truly novel, early stage projects starting from target identification onwards to explore novel biological insights for translation into disease modifying drugs.

  • The Dementia Crisis

    The challenge posed by dementia is enormous. Consequently, both the WHO and the U.S. CDC have declared dementia a public health crisis. As the average age of the population grows, dementia is one of the biggest global health threats we face, and the challenge is growing.

    Worldwide, around 50 million people are affected by dementia and every year there are nearly 10 million new cases. According to the World Health Organization, the total number of people with dementia is projected to reach 82 million in 2030 and 152 million in 2050. These demographics include not only AD, but other dementias such as PDD, FTD, ALS and HD.

    Dementia is a cruel disease that robs people of their abilities, personality and dignity, creating a significant burden for families and society. Contributing to this burden is the lack of effective treatments for people with dementia. Finding ways to treat this condition is critical but has, so far, proven extremely difficult due to the complexity of the origin and manifestation. As a result, there are currently no existing therapies that have a meaningful impact on the downward progression of dementia symptoms or the disease.

    However, the historic difficulty of developing treatments for dementia is not a reason to give up, but a reason to try harder. Scientists are learning from adjacent fields, such as the recent advances in immuno-oncology, and innovative research is opening-up new opportunities beyond the well explored scientific hypotheses.

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News & Insights

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Cumulus Neuroscience Announces First Patient Enrolled in AccelADx Electroencephalogram (EEG) Study for Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Dementia

March 14, 2024

NIHR-Funded Study Represents the Largest of its Kind Conducted to Date in Alzheimer’s Dementia. Cumulus Neuroscience today announced the enrollment (…)

Nitrase Therapeutics Unveils Pioneering Antibody Candidate for Parkinson’s Disease Based on Nitration Discovery in Oral Presentation at the Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease (AD/PD) Conference

March 11, 2024

-Nitrase’s first-in-class antibody found to significantly delay progression of Parkinson’s disease in preclinical models by blocking the propagation of pathogenic (…)

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Sudo Biosciences Announces Second Close of Upsized Series B Financing Bringing Total Raised in Round to $147M

February 13, 2024

The funding will advance two precision TYK2 inhibitors into the clinic for multiple sclerosis, psoriasis and other severe autoimmune and (…)

Get in touch!

We invest in talented innovators. We strongly adhere to the view that diversity, including under-represented groups, strongly adds to success. If you are an entrepreneur seeking investment and a partner who can help you to build your business, we would love to hear from you.
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