10 Things You Need to Know About StartUp Health’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot
With Support from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) and Gates Ventures, we’ve launched a new global initiative created to develop a collaborative innovation community alongside leading companies, research teams, and stakeholders with a mission to accelerate progress in prevention, diagnosis, and management of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Submit your application at www.startuphealth.com/apply
It Launched Last Week
StartUp Health’s Alzheimer’s Moonshot launched on January 8, 2024, during JP Morgan Health week in San Francisco. Read the official press announcement.
It’s Backed by Two of the Biggest Names in Alzheimer’s Innovation
The Alzheimer’s Moonshot was launched by StartUp Health with funding support from two Health Moonshot Champions — the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) and Gates Ventures, the private office of Bill Gates. StartUp Health is seeking additional Health Moonshot Champions to support its Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Potential funders can learn more here.
It’s Led by an Industry Veteran
Phyllis Barkman Ferrell, DrPH, will serve as the Chief Impact Officer of the Alzheimer’s Moonshot and lead its Impact Board. Dr. Ferrell has three decades of related experience, most recently serving as the Global Head of Alzheimer’s and Neurodegeneration at Eli Lilly and Strategic Advisor to the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative. The Alzheimer’s Moonshot Impact Board will also include representatives from the ADDF, Gates Ventures, and a diverse group of stakeholders from industry, clinical medicine, academia, investment, and patient and caregiver communities.
It’s All About Collaborative Communities
At a high level, the Alzheimer’s Moonshot is a new global initiative created to develop a collaborative innovation community alongside leading companies, research teams, and stakeholders with a mission to accelerate progress in prevention, diagnosis, and management of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Practically Speaking, That Means . . .
StartUp Health will invite the most promising founders and researchers working on Alzheimer’s innovation into a collaborative “Health Moonshot Community.” These individuals will receive professional coaching through Health Transformer University, invitations to targeted community events, massive marketing exposure, and the opportunity to network with a prestigious impact board of industry stakeholders.
It’s Free for Founders and Researchers!
For founders and research teams invited into the Alzheimer’s Moonshot, this program is free of charge. Fellowships are made possible by our generous Health Moonshot Champions. Founders can learn more and apply here.
It’s Built on a New Model for Health Innovation
The Alzheimer’s Moonshot is based on a model for innovation that StartUp Health calls Health Moonshot Communities. The idea is to find passionate funding “champions,” form a cross-disciplinary impact board of collaborative stakeholders, and then onboard dozens of likeminded founders and researchers. By bringing all of these pieces together through a virtual hub, coaching workshops, and events, StartUp Health speeds up the innovation cycle and increases the likelihood that a startup will survive through commercialization.
What Can Founders Expect?
Health Transformer University serves as the nucleus of our health moonshot ecosystem, fostering collaboration globally.
Tailored for entrepreneurs and innovators, it offers essential tools, structures, and networks to accelerate innovation cycles and guide transformative solutions through all growth stages.
While numerous academic institutions advance science, technology, and biology, none focus globally on training startup founders for the challenges of building, commercializing, and scaling a digital health, biotech or life sciences company. Empowering individuals to navigate complex regulations and secure funding, Health Transformer University provides a proven program and a supportive community. We understand the unique challenges they face and equip them to thrive.
It’s Part of a Bigger Story
The Alzheimer’s Moonshot builds on the success of StartUp Health’s Type 1 Diabetes Moonshot, which was launched in 2023 and was anchored by a program-related investment (PRI) from the Helmsley Charitable Trust. The T1D Moonshot has already built a cross-disciplinary impact board, designed a scoreboard for measuring company progress, and onboarded dozens of startups passionate about Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease are the first two steps in a much bigger Health Moonshot Community movement.
Why Now?
If you’re reading this, you likely know how awful it is to watch people you love struggle as Alzheimer’s disease robs them of their mental capacity and their very self, and you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and do something about it.
The urgency is palpable. We stand at a critical juncture in the innovation curve, where technology now holds the key to exponential improvements in the lives of those affected by the disease. If we hesitate, we risk losing an entire generation to its clutches. We owe it to ourselves, to our loved ones, and to future generations to seize this moment and channel our resources, expertise, and determination into a collaborative mission to corral the effects of this devastating disease.
The time is now to become part of the community of funders and founders in our Alzheimer’s Moonshot. Let’s be the generation that breaks the cycle, ushering in an era of hope and healing for all.
Call for Alzheimer’s Innovation
Are you an academic founder, founder, startup, or research team focused on Alzheimer’s innovation who would like to join the Alzheimer’s Moonshot? Learn more and apply for an Alzheimer’s Moonshot Fellowship.
Become a Health Moonshot Champion
Health moonshots, like the Alzheimer’s Moonshot, are fueled by mission-aligned families, foundations and industry organizations committed to solving big challenges. Learn how your organization can become part of the Alzheimer’s Moonshot (or one of our 14 global health moonshots).
Investors:Learn how you can become a Health Moonshot Champion and invest in Health Transformers.
Digital health entrepreneur? Don’t make the journey alone. Learn how Health Transformer University fuels your health moonshot.
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