At a pivotal time in Alzheimer’s research, the GAP Foundation and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation will connect funders with leading innovators
Updated on March 26, 2020: The Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation (GAP) has announced it is postponing the GAP Innovation Summit that was to be held on May 5, 2020 with our partner, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF). GAP and ADDF reiterates that the health, well-being and safety of our community remain their top priority and will reschedule this inaugural event for a later date.
Washington, DC (February 26, 2020) – The Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation (GAP) and the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) are partnering to accelerate Alzheimer’s research by organizing the first-ever GAP Innovation Summit. This event comes at a consequential moment in Alzheimer’s research – leading experts expect a breakthrough in the next five years. At the summit, pioneers on the cutting edge of Alzheimer’s research will pitch their best work to funders who can help bring their innovations to market as a part of the global effort to slow and stop Alzheimer’s. The GAP Innovation Summit will take place on May 5, 2020 in Washington, D.C.
“It’s an exciting time for Alzheimer’s research and a moment of peak opportunity to invest in the Alzheimer’s innovation ecosystem,” said John Dwyer, President of the GAP Foundation. “This summit is in response to innovators and investors who asked us to create a forum for advancing the development of new technologies for the Alzheimer’s disease field.”
Researchers and science entrepreneurs at the GAP Innovation Summit will show their funding-ready work to investors, and investors will select potential partners from among the most exciting developments in Alzheimer’s science. Innovations will be split into four categories: therapeutic development; biology markers; digital tools for screening and diagnosis, as well as the use of artificial intelligence and big data; and blue sky innovations, a category to capture any exciting trend in Alzheimer’s disease innovation. Participants will assess which innovations they believe to be the best, and a winner in each category will be announced.
“Alzheimer’s disease is an area ripe for discovery,” said Howard Fillit, MD, Founding Executive Director and Chief Science Officer of ADDF. “Through venture philanthropy, the ADDF has awarded more than $150 million to fund over 626 Alzheimer’s drug discovery programs and clinical trials in 19 countries. New drugs, technologies, and breakthrough innovations are only possible when leading scientists and entrepreneurs are connected and have access to capital. This summit will help to shepherd these investments to the next level.”
2020 is a turning point year for Alzheimer’s research. For the first time in 15 years, Alzheimer’s drug treatments are expected to seek regulatory approval by the FDA. Additionally, the U.S. Congress approved the federal spending bill allocating an unprecedented $2.8 billion for Alzheimer’s research in FY2020. The results of decades of research are arriving, and investors and funders at the GAP Innovation Summit will have the opportunity to evaluate and select visionary innovations to financially support.
“Exposing investors, payers, and regulators to the next great wave of innovations in drugs and devices is essential to advancing Alzheimer’s science, and, ultimately, unlocking the break-throughs needed to end this disease by 2025,” said George Vradenburg, Chairman of the GAP Foundation.
Alzheimer’s is the greatest public health crisis of our time. 5.8 million Americans are impacted by Alzheimer’s, and the U.S. spends $290 billion annually on the disease. The annual cost is projected to rise to $2 trillion by 2030 as Baby Boomers age.
Researchers and science entrepreneurs who wish to pitch their funding-ready work to investors at the GAP Innovation Summit should contact Ben Williams at bwilliams@highlanterngroup.com or 202-223-2026. People interested in attending the GAP Innovation Summit can register at https://cvent.me/mqkdBr.
About the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation
The Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation (GAP) is a patient-centric nonprofit foundation dedicated to speeding the delivery of innovative medicines to those in need by reducing the time and cost of Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials. In collaboration with other foundations, research centers and industry, GAP established GAP-Net, a growing network of more than 80 academic and private Alzheimer’s disease research centers across the US and Canada. GAP-Net sites share data, best practices, use of a central Institutional Review Board and common clinical trial contracts. GAP is committed to enhancing clinical trial recruitment and study processes to reduce clinical testing cycles by up to two years. To learn more about GAP, please visit: globalalzplatform.org.
About the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation
Founded in 1998 by Leonard A. Lauder and Ronald S. Lauder, the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) is the only philanthropy solely focused on accelerating the development of drugs to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease. Its venture philanthropy approach and scientific expertise allows the ADDF to support the most promising ideas around the world.
Our team of expert neuroscientists find and fund drug discovery projects that have the best chance of preventing or treating Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Drug discovery and development for Alzheimer’s disease is a chronically underfunded area, so our investments mean good ideas get explored. And every idea is a chance at a cure.
Contact: Pamela Larkin, 202-919-5797, pamelalarkin@rational360.com