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Finance Watch: Dementia Discovery Fund Exceeds Fundraising Goal By $150m

 
• By Mandy Jackson

Private Company Edition: The Dementia Discovery Fund started in 2015 with plans to raise $200m to fund early-stage development of disease-modifying drugs, but recently closed its fundraising with $350m in commitments. Also, Kaleido's $101m Series C is among three recent $100m-plus rounds.

Finance Watch

The Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF) brought together government, nonprofit, venture capital and industry investors starting in 2015 with the goal of funding early-stage development of disease-modifying therapies for all forms of dementia. With fundraising complete at £250m ($350m), the DDF may be able to fund even more dementia-focused start-ups than originally planned.

The fund announced on June 25 that the AARP – the nonpartisan organization advocating for the health and financial well-being of people aged 50 and older – invested $60m in the DDF. With $350m in total commitments, the disease-specific VC fund now far exceeds its initial $200m (£130m) fundraising goal

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