Dementia Discovery Fund

Violet Therapeutics is a pre-clinical stage company leveraging first-in-class platforms to identify, map, and mine the cellular connectome. Violet’s drug discovery programs are focused on CNS diseases enabled by the novel targets elucidated by their platforms. Violet was co-founded by Mass General Brigham Ventures and scientists from Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

Cerevance is a biotechnology company that develops novel therapeutics for neurological diseases, including chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Using a large and growing repository of over 15,000 human brain tissue samples, the company generates an unprecedented level of expression and epigenetic data, enabling the company to identify the most promising targets for the next generation of treatments for CNS disorders.

Harness Therapeutics is a private biotechnology company focused on the development of a novel class of therapeutic RNAs that can upregulate protein expression with an unprecedented level of control and specificity: the SINEUPs®. The company's pioneering technology is expected to offer an entirely unique mechanism of action for currently hard-to-treat diseases by massively extending the druggable proteome and allowing it to address diseases that have been beyond the reach of small molecules, conventional biologics, or gene therapies. We have a particular focus on CNS and opthalmologic disorders but our platform has applications in multiple therapy areas

AviadoBio mission is to transform the lives of people living with neurodegenerative disorders by developing and delivering transformative gene therapies for diseases including frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Company’s technology is based on pioneering research from King’s College London and the UK Dementia Research Institute.

LoQus23 is a DDF-formed company focussing on targeting DNA damage repair pathways to treat Huntington’s disease and other triplet repeat diseases.

Nitrase Therapeutics is a platform company developing drugs against a newly identified class of enzymes called Nitrases, initially targeting Parkinson’s disease. The therapies that Nitrome is developing will target these enzymes and potentially help slow or halt the progression of diseases such as Parkinson’s. While the initial focus is on Parkinson's disease, the company aims to expand its proprietary platform to include other disease indications.

Harness Therapeutics is a private biotechnology company focused on the development of a novel class of therapeutic RNAs that can upregulate protein expression with an unprecedented level of control and specificity: the SINEUPs®. The company's pioneering technology is expected to offer an entirely unique mechanism of action for currently hard-to-treat diseases by massively extending the druggable proteome and allowing it to address diseases that have been beyond the reach of small molecules, conventional biologics, or gene therapies. We have a particular focus on CNS and opthalmologic disorders but our platform has applications in multiple therapy areas

Therini Bio is a biotechnology company specializing in fibrin-targeting therapies to treat inflammatory neurological and retinal diseases. It develops therapeutics based on unique insights into the novel role of fibrin in driving chronic innate immune activation that characterizes a broad set of human diseases with high unmet needs. The current therapeutic target is based on novel findings by the Akassoglou lab at Gladstone/UCSF that implicate fibrin as a key driver of neuroinflammation.

Cumulus Neuroscience develops an AI-based digital biomarker platform to aid in the resolution of the most pressing healthcare challenges in neurodegeneration and psychiatry. Cumulus Neuroscience's platform is intended to provide the critical data and insight required for more rapid, robust, and cost-effective clinical trials that improve patient access to new therapies. The platform's novel insights change the future of clinical trials in brain disorders, allowing life-changing therapies to reach patients faster and more affordably.

BrainWaveBank has developed a first-in-class wearable electroencephalography (EEG) device to conveniently and non-invasively measure the mechanisms that underpin neurological disorders and therapies. Our platform can securely gather, store and analyse data from many thousands of users, building neurocognitive profiles of individuals and populations or demographic groups. This easy-to-scale and distributable approach will help clinical professionals to transform our understanding of brain health and develop the next generation of treatments. BrainWaveBank was founded in January 2015 and has offices in Belfast , Northern Ireland and Dublin, Ireland.

Alchemab Therapeutics is developing natural protective antibodies designed to keep people free of hard-to-treat diseases. The company is building their transformative engine to identify drug targets and develop a pipeline of antibody therapeutics for hard-to-treat cancers, neurodegenerative conditions, and infectious diseases. Alchemab Therapeutics was established in 2019 by Uri Laserson and Jane Osbourn in London, England.

QurAlis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is developing precision medicines with genetically validated targets for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Its proprietary platforms and biomarkers allow for the design and development of drugs that target disease-causing genetic alterations directly.

Nitrase Therapeutics is a platform company developing drugs against a newly identified class of enzymes called Nitrases, initially targeting Parkinson’s disease. The therapies that Nitrome is developing will target these enzymes and potentially help slow or halt the progression of diseases such as Parkinson’s. While the initial focus is on Parkinson's disease, the company aims to expand its proprietary platform to include other disease indications.

Cerevance is a biotechnology company that develops novel therapeutics for neurological diseases, including chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Using a large and growing repository of over 15,000 human brain tissue samples, the company generates an unprecedented level of expression and epigenetic data, enabling the company to identify the most promising targets for the next generation of treatments for CNS disorders.

Harness Therapeutics is a private biotechnology company focused on the development of a novel class of therapeutic RNAs that can upregulate protein expression with an unprecedented level of control and specificity: the SINEUPs®. The company's pioneering technology is expected to offer an entirely unique mechanism of action for currently hard-to-treat diseases by massively extending the druggable proteome and allowing it to address diseases that have been beyond the reach of small molecules, conventional biologics, or gene therapies. We have a particular focus on CNS and opthalmologic disorders but our platform has applications in multiple therapy areas

AviadoBio mission is to transform the lives of people living with neurodegenerative disorders by developing and delivering transformative gene therapies for diseases including frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Company’s technology is based on pioneering research from King’s College London and the UK Dementia Research Institute.

Rheostat’s mission is to invent novel treatments for neurodegenerative disease through modulation of mitophagy and autophagy. They believe that the degradation of toxic cellular components, whether they are damaged organelles or aggregated proteins, is a fundamental node of biology. Mutations that impair these clearance pathways cause multiple neurodegenerative diseases, many of which are associated with cognitive impairment. They aim to leverage our understanding of these critical pathways to discover and develop novel small molecules that will restore cellular balance and treat neurodegenerative and rare diseases.

Ribometrix is a platform therapeutics company that discovers small molecule drugs that target functional 3D RNA structures to treat human diseases. Our scientific offices are located in the newly renovated Biolabs Space in Durham, with offices in Chapel Hill and Boston.

Amathus Therapeutics is a biotechnology firm that works on compounds to treat stress and Parkinson's disease. Their molecular processes include oxidative stress response, proteasomal degradation, unfolded protein response, autophagy, and mitophagy.

AstronauTx aims to restore astrocyte homeostasis function as a treatment for dementias. In a healthy brain, astrocytes support neuronal firing, metabolism, and blood-brain barrier function; however, in disease, they can exacerbate and even drive neurotoxicity.

Therini Bio is a biotechnology company specializing in fibrin-targeting therapies to treat inflammatory neurological and retinal diseases. It develops therapeutics based on unique insights into the novel role of fibrin in driving chronic innate immune activation that characterizes a broad set of human diseases with high unmet needs. The current therapeutic target is based on novel findings by the Akassoglou lab at Gladstone/UCSF that implicate fibrin as a key driver of neuroinflammation.

LoQus23 is a DDF-formed company focussing on targeting DNA damage repair pathways to treat Huntington’s disease and other triplet repeat diseases.

Rheostat’s mission is to invent novel treatments for neurodegenerative disease through modulation of mitophagy and autophagy. They believe that the degradation of toxic cellular components, whether they are damaged organelles or aggregated proteins, is a fundamental node of biology. Mutations that impair these clearance pathways cause multiple neurodegenerative diseases, many of which are associated with cognitive impairment. They aim to leverage our understanding of these critical pathways to discover and develop novel small molecules that will restore cellular balance and treat neurodegenerative and rare diseases.

Ribometrix is a platform therapeutics company that discovers small molecule drugs that target functional 3D RNA structures to treat human diseases. Our scientific offices are located in the newly renovated Biolabs Space in Durham, with offices in Chapel Hill and Boston.

Evelo Biosciences is dedicated to improving the lives of patients globally through the development of a new modality of medicines – monoclonal microbials. Monoclonal microbials are orally delivered medicines that modulate systemic immunology and biology through direct interactions with human cells in the gut. These new medicines are broadly applicable across many diseases – including autoimmune, immunoinflammatory, metabolic, neurological, neuroinflammatory diseases, and cancer. Monoclonal microbials have the potential to fundamentally change traditional models of drug discovery and development. By finding and selecting naturally occurring monoclonal microbial with defined therapeutic effects, Evelo can improve the speed, cost, and success of drug discovery and development. Evelo’s platform enables pharmacological intervention at all stages of the disease with naturally occurring, safe, and effective monoclonal microbials. Evelo Biosciences was conceived and created within VentureLabs®, Flagship Pioneering’s institutional innovation foundry, and launched by Flagship in 2015.

Cerevance is a biotechnology company that develops novel therapeutics for neurological diseases, including chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Using a large and growing repository of over 15,000 human brain tissue samples, the company generates an unprecedented level of expression and epigenetic data, enabling the company to identify the most promising targets for the next generation of treatments for CNS disorders.

Ribometrix is a platform therapeutics company that discovers small molecule drugs that target functional 3D RNA structures to treat human diseases. Our scientific offices are located in the newly renovated Biolabs Space in Durham, with offices in Chapel Hill and Boston.

Mitoconix Bio is pioneering a disease-modifying strategy of improving mitochondrial functions for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Mitochondria generates ATP, the energy source for all cellular activities. Mitochondria are also involved in other essential cellular functions, including calcium sequestration, amino acid and lipid metabolism, keeping balanced redox potential and orchestrating programmed cell death. In neurons in particular, mitochondria are very dynamic organelles that constantly undergo fission (division) and fusion. This process, called mitochondrial dynamics, is critical in maintaining healthy and functional mitochondria under both normal conditions and in response to stress and in ensuring having viable mitochondria along the axons and in the synaptic boutons. A defect in either fusion or fission limits mitochondrial motility, decreases energy production, increases oxidative stress and activates pro-apoptotic signaling thereby promoting cell dysfunction and death. Mitoconix’ lead drug is a first-in-class inhibitor of pathological mitochondrial fragmentation and dysfunction with demonstrated in vivo efficacy in animal models of Huntington’s (HD) and Parkinson’s diseases (PD) and beneficial activity in patient-derived cells of HD, sporadic and genetic PD, and sporadic and genetic Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Cerevance is a biotechnology company that develops novel therapeutics for neurological diseases, including chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Using a large and growing repository of over 15,000 human brain tissue samples, the company generates an unprecedented level of expression and epigenetic data, enabling the company to identify the most promising targets for the next generation of treatments for CNS disorders.

Autifony Therapeutics Limited, a biotechnology company, develops medicines to treat hearing disorders such as hearing loss and tinnitus. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is based in London, United Kingdom.

Gen2 Neuroscience develops therapeutics for the treatment of dementia targeting abnormal forms of the essential cellular protein tau.

Alector is combining state-of-the-art antibody technology and recent discoveries in neuroimmunology and human genetics to develop novel therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease, other forms of dementia, and mechanistically related neurodegenerative disorders. Alector’s strategy is to efficiently generate and validate antibody drugs with unique functional properties that engage key disease-altering targets. This approach is enabled by a strategic alliance with Adimab, the industry leader in discovery and optimization of antibody therapeutics. Alector is currently developing leads for 4 major targets and anticipates taking 2 of these through pre-clinical development and IND enabling studies within 24 months. Alector has incorporated a highly integrated and lean biotechnology structure with extensive outsourcing that supports core scientific and management teams.