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Dementia Discovery Fund
Angus Grant leads the Dementia Discovery Fund, the UK-government-backed venture firm targeting novel dementia therapies beyond amyloid.
Dementia Discovery Fund
The Dementia Discovery Fund was formed in 2015 as a public-private partnership convened by the UK Department of Health and Social Care alongside seven pharmaceutical firms — Biogen, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Takeda, and Lundbeck (per the firm's official communications). The vehicle was designed as a structural intervention: dementia research had seen a decade of clinical trial failures and capital flight, leaving early-stage neuroscience ventures with few dedicated funding sources. The fund's remit is explicitly translational, targeting first-in-class or best-in-class therapeutics for Alzheimer's and other dementias. The fund invests across early-stage and preclinical biotech companies, with a portfolio spanning small-molecule therapeutics, biologics, and digital biomarkers. Confirmed positions include Cerevance (pipeline of CNS-targeted therapies), Alector (immuno-neurology antibodies, NASDAQ-listed), and PharmatrophiX (a spinout targeting neurotrophin receptor signaling). Geographic coverage centers on the UK, the US, and continental Europe — aligning with the R&D footprints of its pharma LPs. The vehicle does not operate as a pure financial return fund; its dual mandate incorporates patient-impact milestones alongside venture-scale returns. The fund operates from a primary hub in London, with additional investment professionals based in Amsterdam and Boston. Angus Grant, formerly of Roche and Celgene, joined as CEO in 2021, succeeding founding managing partner Jonathan Behr. The team integrates scientific advisory input from the LPs' neuroscience divisions, creating a clinical translation review layer uncommon in generalist life-science venture firms. Adjacent structures include links to the UK government's broader Life Sciences Strategy and collaborations with Alzheimer's Research UK. Structurally, the fund occupies a rare position: a standalone venture manager with limited partners that are both pharmaceutical competitors and potential acquirers of its portfolio companies. This creates a built-in exit channel — portfolio companies have direct access to the R&D organizations and business-development teams of the seven pharma backers, a sourcing and validation advantage that pure financial VCs cannot replicate.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2015
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
United Kingdom
City
London
Corporate office
London, United Kingdom
Additional offices
Amsterdam, Netherlands · Boston, MA, United States
Principals
Angus Grant
CEO
Tetsu Maruyama
Chief Scientific Officer
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at the Dementia Discovery Fund?
Angus Grant serves as CEO and leads the investment team, supported by Chief Scientific Officer Tetsu Maruyama. Grant joined in 2021 from a career spanning executive R&D roles at Roche and Celgene. The fund's Investment Committee draws on scientific advisory input from the neuroscience divisions of its pharmaceutical limited partners.
How does the Dementia Discovery Fund source proprietary deal flow?
The fund sources opportunities through the academic neuroscience networks of its LPs' R&D organizations, direct relationships with university technology transfer offices in the UK and US, and referrals from its Scientific Advisory Board. Its pharma backers — including Biogen, Eli Lilly, and Johnson & Johnson — provide visibility into preclinical assets that may be deprioritized internally but viable as standalone ventures.
Is the Dementia Discovery Fund structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
It operates as a specialist venture capital firm. The vehicle was established in 2015 as a public-private partnership, not a family office. Its limited partners include the UK Department of Health and Social Care and seven global pharmaceutical companies, and the fund charges management fees and carried interest on a standard venture capital model.
Does the firm participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The Dementia Discovery Fund makes direct equity investments in early-stage biotech and neuroscience companies. It does not operate as a fund-of-funds. Its capital is deployed as lead or co-lead in seed and Series A rounds, with reserves for follow-on investments as programs advance toward clinical proof-of-concept.
How is the Dementia Discovery Fund related to its pharmaceutical limited partners?
The seven pharma LPs — Biogen, Eli Lilly, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Takeda, and Lundbeck — are passive investors in the fund. They do not control investment decisions, but they provide scientific advisory support and represent potential acquirers or licensing partners for portfolio companies. This creates an information advantage without constraining the fund's independent fiduciary duty.
Which sectors does the Dementia Discovery Fund explicitly avoid?
The fund does not invest outside neurodegenerative disease. It explicitly excludes general CNS indications, oncology, cardiovascular, and platform technologies not directly tied to a dementia therapeutic hypothesis. Within dementia, it avoids pure symptomatic treatments without a disease-modifying mechanism.
What is the fund's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
The Dementia Discovery Fund does co-invest alongside generalist life-science VCs and corporate venture arms. Portfolio company Cerevance, for example, has raised from GV, F-Prime Capital, and the Dementia Discovery Fund in syndicated rounds. The fund's co-investment terms are standard venture-market practice, without preferential rights reserved for its pharma LPs.
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