Beta-amyloid plaques and tau in the brain. [Image from National Institute of Aging]
The Estée Lauder family has donated $200 million to the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF), a nonprofit they founded in 1998 to support Alzheimer’s research. The gift is the largest ADDF has received.
“We’ve deployed about $270 million so far for about 700 programs in 19 countries of drug discovery and development over the past 25 years,” said Dr. Howard Fillit, co-founder and chief science officer of the nonprofit.
The Lauder gift will sustain ADDF’s philanthropic model for the next 10 or 15 years, Fillit said. “We want to use our donors’ money solely for the advancement of the development of new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease,” he explained. The organization ensures that every cent of each dollar donated goes towards drug research, with no deductions for administrative costs, salaries, rent…