Cure Alzheimer’s Fund is governed by a board of directors; administered by a small, full-time staff; and guided scientifically by a Research Consortium. A Scientific Advisory Board audits the research program to make sure it is consistent with the objectives of the foundation. Cure Alzheimer's Fund™ is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Cure Alzheimer’s Fund is a "doing business as" name for the Alzheimer's Disease Research Foundation, federal tax ID # 52-2396428.
Our Story
In late 2004, three families (the McCances, the Morbys and the Rappaports) came together for one reason—they were all frustrated with the pace of research toward finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Some were affected personally by the disease, some were already involved in trying to discover a cure, but not one of them was willing to accept the status quo answer from doctors that ”little could be done.” They knew there had to be a better way.
It is well-known that Alzheimer’s is a crippling disease that slowly robs you of all your memories and experiences. But what most people don’t realize is that most of the money being spent today on Alzheimer’s goes toward care for patients, not toward finding a cure. More than 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s today, and with the baby boomer generation approaching retirement age, that number is expected to grow to 13.4 million by 2050.
The problem is not lack of awareness. The problem is that the traditional system for finding a cure is fundamentally broken. The current system is:
Insufficient. Less than one penny of every dollar spent on Alzheimer’s disease goes toward finding a cure; Alzheimer’s lags behind other diseases in terms of funding; and costs are expected to balloon from $172 billion today to $1 trillion in 2050, which will bankrupt both Medicare and Medicaid.
Inefficient.The best minds in the industry spend 30% of their time writing grant proposals instead of researching a cure, and the approval rate for grants is at an all-time low.
Ineffective. The disease is 104 years old and therestill is no cure. Progress has been incremental at best.
Changing the game. Leveraging their deep experience in venture capital and corporate start-ups, Henry McCance, Phyllis Rappaport and Jacqui and Jeff Morby decided to apply their collective business savvy toward a different path for a cure. They collaborated to build a new strategy based on a venture capital model to accelerate Alzheimer’s research and focus 100% on finding a cure. Cure Alzheimer’s Fund (CAF) was born from this entrepreneurial spirit and a drive to end Alzheimer’s.
Video: Meet the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund Founders
The Plan. The goal of CAF is to stop the disease before it even strikes, with early prediction and prevention. Discovered more than 100 years ago, Alzheimer’s is a genetic disease. But up until 2005, researchers had only discovered four genes associated with the disease, which accounted for just 30% of the inherited risk. Since 2005, CAF has discovered 120 other genes that are linked with Alzheimer’s and make up the other 70% of those at risk. But more importantly, identifying these genes is the first step to understanding the cause of the disease before a cure can be found. Research is the only path to progress.
For the past five years, CAF has focused some of the best scientific minds in the industry on fighting this disease. Our researchers are focused on cutting-edge work that is making progress in the search for a cure. They are tackling the biggest issues in Alzheimer’s disease at renowned institutions across the United States and abroad.
Despite the organization’s own VC roots, Cure Alzheimer’s Fund is a non-profit organization. We embrace the VC strategy solely to find a cure for Alzheimer’s, not to create financial gain for our founders, investors or researchers. It’s a bold move, but we don’t see any other choice.
Join us in our quest for a cure and be confident that every penny of your donation will make a difference in the lives of people everywhere—maybe even yours.