The fund trying to stop or at least slow down the progression of dementia

We invest in companies that are trying to develop a drug "capable of stopping or at least slowing down the progression of dementia," for example for patients suffering from Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, Christian Jung said in an interview with our colleagues from RTL Radio on Tuesday. Jung is a molecular biologist and since 2019 a partner in a venture capital company, Dementia Discovery Fund, in London. So far, they have raised nearly half a billion to invest in this type of research. Eight of the ten largest pharmaceutical companies, as well as personalities such as Bill Gates, are among the investors.

"If we don't find one, our healthcare systems will be overwhelmed by 2050 at the latest," the molecular biologist noted. Already today, "more than $1.3 trillion is spent each year just to treat dementia patients." The majority of that money is used to cover care expenses. Jung pointed out that 1.3 trillion is more than all other prescription drugs combined, which amount to $1 trillion, adding that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has already drawn attention to this emergency.

Pharmaceutical companies have been trying to find a drug for a long time, but so far without success. "We are not banks, but scientists who use our knowledge to start new businesses," Jung explained.

"At the beginning, we invested in 18 companies, nine of which we created ourselves," the molecular biologist recalled. These companies, according to Jung, "have developed 45 new anti-dementia programmes, eight of which are already in the clinical phase, i.e., being tested on humans." Jung and his partners plan to launch "another 12 to 15 companies" in the coming years.

The molecular biologist thinks it is "realistic" to expect that "a lot will happen in the next five to ten years." One of the key factors behind his confidence is that "we understand biology better and better, there are always new technologies." In fact, one of the companies started by the Dementia Discovery Fund developed a technology that would have been "unimaginable" two years ago. "There is hope," according to the molecular biologist.