By Caroline Ster
Bill Gates and a group of philanthropists are investing $30 million in the Diagnostic Accelerator. Their goal is to create affordable and accessible diagnostic tests for Alzheimer’s disease.
Ideally, they hope that diagnosing Alzheimer’s becomes as simple as getting a blood test or eye exam at an annual physical. A person can develop Alzheimer’s years before symptoms manifest themselves. By the time the disease is impacting everyday life, a lot of irreversible damage has already been done. A simple diagnostic test will allow for people to be diagnosed earlier – which can also help identify potential participants for clinical trials.
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The fund is also supported by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation and the Dolby Family.
In addition to this pledge, Gates invested another $50 million of his own money to the Dementia Discovery Fund late last year.
“Several of the men in my family have this disease,” Gates explained in an interview with CNN. “I’ve seen how tough it is…I hope I can live a long time without those limitations.”
The Dementia Discovery Fund is a private-public research partnership dedicated to developing a treatment or cure for dementia.
More information: https://cnn.it/2uOSKNO
