Global investment firm EQT Life Sciences announced the close of its €260 million LSP Dementia Fund, outstripping its target fund size of €100 million. EQT is Europe’s largest healthcare buyout firm, with approximately €113.0 billion in assets under management. Dedicated solely to dementia and neurodegenerative disease, the Dementia Fund is the first of its kind for EQT and joins a small group of similar funds including UK-based SV Health Investors’ €250 million Dementia Discovery Fund. Top limited partners of the Dementia Fund include the Alzheimer’s Association, the European Investment Fund, Asia-based pharmaceutical developer Shionogi, and other major pharmaceutical and insurance firms.
Defined as “a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interferes with doing everyday activities,” dementia accounts for 9% of all deaths in OECD countries in 2021. According to the World Health Organization, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are the seventh leading cause of death globally. Lifespan aside, neurodegenerative diseases take a massive toll on the healthspan of afflicted patients, who can no longer function in a normal, healthy manner.
Led by Philip Scheltens, former Director of the Alzheimer Center at Amsterdam University Medical Center, EQT’s Dementia Fund has invested in five companies so far, including NewAmsterdam Pharma, Muna Therapeutics, AviadoBio, Nobi, and QurAlis. New Amsterdam Pharma is a pharmaceutical company focused on developing lipid-lowering therapies for patients with metabolic disease and has exclusive rights to commercialize drugs to treat Alzheimer’s patients. Muna Therapeutics and AviadoBio are both developing therapies to slow or stop neurodegenerative disease through drug discovery and gene therapy, respectively. Nobi produces a “smart lamp” to detect and prevent falls in elderly people, while QurAlis is developing precision medicines for ALS and other neurologic diseases.
The Dementia Fund will invest in 10-15 companies in total and is focused on European investments, although it is open to investments in Asia, Israel, and the United States. The fund adds to several other healthcare-focused funds at EQT including its Life Sciences Partners 7 Fund, which invests in early-to-late stage life sciences companies, and Life Sciences Partners Health Economic Fund 2, which invests in healthcare technology companies in late-stage development or early-stage commercialization.
Treatment options for neurodegenerative diseases are scant. Current drugs include cholinesterase inhibitors (which help neurons communicate), memantine (which normalizes glutamate levels, helping with neurotransmission), and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (which can help treat some of the symptoms of dementia including confusion and depression). In 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval for aducanumab to treat Alzheimer’s, but the move was controversial due to the drug’s unclear efficacy.
Doctors can do a bit to slow the progression of neurodegenerative disease and lighten its psychological burdens (including treatments for depression), but no treatments on the market can stop or reverse dementia. Gene therapies and monoclonal antibody treatments for Alzheimer’s disease are promising, but prevention is currently the best option for at-risk populations. EQT’s Dementia Fund will provide vital liquidity for scientists seeking to develop therapeutic options to prevent, slow, or even reverse dementia