Bill Gates gifts £23m towards the fight against dementia

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has announced he will invest $30m (£23m) towards a new fund designed to bring improved diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Diagnostics Accelerator is run by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation in the US and will back research aimed at accelerating earlier and better diagnosis of the disease.

Mr Gates said on his blog, Gates Notes: “Alzheimer’s research is a frontier where we can dramatically improve human life—both the lives of people who have the disease and their loved ones. I’m optimistic that we can substantially alter the course of Alzheimer’s if we make progress in several key areas. One of the biggest things we could do right now is develop a reliable, affordable, and accessible diagnostic.

“The more we understand about Alzheimer’s, the clearer it becomes that the disease begins much earlier than we previously thought. Research suggests Alzheimer’s starts damaging the brain more than a decade before symptoms start showing. That’s probably when we need to start treating people to have the best shot at an effective drug.”

Mr Gates made his first investment into dementia research in November 2017 when he invested $50m into the Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), which provides backing for early-stage drug discovery projects around the world.

The DDF is formed through a collaboration of the UK Department of Health, Alzheimer’s Research UK and several leading pharmaceutical companies.

Hilary Evans, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “The ability to diagnose diseases like Alzheimer’s early and accurately remains one of the biggest challenges for our scientists, so this is an encouraging focus on finding solutions.

“The Diagnostics Accelerator seeks to change the way these diseases are diagnosed in the clinic, which will enable people to access support and existing treatments earlier and when most beneficial. Early diagnosis also helps improve our approach to trialling new treatments by ensuring cohorts comprise people with a clear diagnosis who can truly benefit from therapies.

“With more than 50 million people now living with dementia worldwide, most commonly caused by Alzheimer’s, the need for investment in research cannot be overstated. Philanthropy has a vital role to play in finding answers and Bill Gates is leading by example. Mr Gates’ continued backing for dementia research is a vote of confidence in the potential of pioneering science to transform lives, and shows the world that research offers real hope for the future.”

For more information on Alzheimer’s disease go to: www.alzheimersresearchuk.org