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Billionaire Bill Gates and President Emeritus of Estée Lauder Cos, Leonard Lauder, announced Tuesday that they will allocate $ 30 million over three years to encourage the development of new screening tests early Alzheimer's disease
. The founder of Gates, the Diagnostics Accelerator program, announced in November a $ 50 million personal investment in the Dementia Discovery Fund, a venture capital fund aimed at bringing industry and government together to find treatments for brain disease. 19659003] The effort, says Gates, was fueled in part by his personal experience with family members struggling with Alzheimer's.
The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer's disease affects nearly 50 million people worldwide and is expected to reach more than 131 million by 2050, according to Alzheimer's Disease International .
Gates and Lauder provided start-up funding for collaboration on diagnosis. h the Alzheimer's Foundation & Drug Discovery (ADDF), founded by Lauder. They will be joined by other philanthropists, including the Dolby family and the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation.
Initiative funding will be open to scientists and clinicians working in academia, charities and biotechnology companies. The ADDF Diagnostics Accelerator group will invest in riskier projects that may not have immediate commercial benefits, said the group in a statement.
Drug companies have injected billions of dollars into many unsuccessful attempts It can stop the ravages of Alzheimer's disease, a deadly disease that deprives people of their memories and their ability to take care of themselves # 39; themselves.
Many experts believe that drug trials have failed. They argue that drugs must be tested early before the disease has caused significant declines.
The US Food and Drug Administration stated that it would consider Alzheimer's drug tests based on biological markers rather than on clinical symptoms. to be tested much earlier in the disease process. Currently, a brain scan or spinal tap are the main means used to confirm an Alzheimer's diagnosis, although the most conclusive test remains an autopsy.
In an article announcing his investment, Gates painted a portrait of a future Alzheimer's. would be "as simple as getting your blood tested during your annual physique."
Reuters
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