Improving health and quality of life starting with the brain

At the core of the Lundbeck Foundation’s purpose and strategy of bringing discoveries to lives is the commitment to drive new health discoveries that can improve people’s lives and well-being.

SDG 3 constitutes an important strategic anchor for the Foundation’s philanthropic and commercial activities - especially sub-target 3.4 regarding the treatment of non-communicable diseases and mental health given the Foundation’s focus on the brain.

BETTER LIVES THROUGH BETTER SCIENCE In 2021, the total grant sum of the Lundbeck Foundation amounted to DKK 803m. New scientific discoveries and insights are a key enabler to reaching the goals of SDG3 (Good health and well-being). The Foundation’s grants cover basic research, which has limited short-term impact on health treatments, but is vital to understanding human biology. They also include application-oriented research grants with a potential direct impact on the discovery of new treatments. The Foundation’s support for biomedical science includes funding large-scale research projects, supporting the talent development of the best scientists, and the development of the surrounding ecosystem in neuroscience and healthcare.

IT STARTS WITH THE BRAIN The number of people with brain diseases is growing around the globe. Diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are known for their devastating consequences for people’s lives, but also for their significant economic burden on society. Furthermore, the economic costs are growing, due to ageing populations in many societies. Despite the significant burden of brain diseases, the world still lacks fundamental knowledge about the brain and its diseases, and this constitutes a critical barrier for the development of new and better treatments.

The Lundbeck Foundation is committed to bridging the scientific knowledge gap regarding the brain, and to generating new insights and knowledge that can lead to better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of brain disorders. In 2021, approximately 79% of the granted amount –corresponding to DKK 632m – was awarded to brain research. This included the largest single grant ever: DKK 187m to establish the Neuroscience Academy Denmark.

Over recent decades, neuroscience has been a somewhat overlooked scientific topic in life-science research. The brain is highly complex to study and often requires a translational approach and challenging clinical studies, which take time, resources, and access to biomedical as well as sociodemographic data. Growing the awareness of the importance of brain health and neuroscience research within the life science community, and in society in general, is therefore also an important task for the Foundation as part of its strategic ambition of being an active public voice, that contributes constructively to the development of society. In 2021, the Foundation hosted a range of talks and events about brain health, new neuroscience studies and the cost of brain disorders. The Foundation also partnered with NCD Alliance and the BBC to produce a short documentary about the life of a migraine patient (https://lundbeckfonden.com/en/news/ documentary-living-with-migraine-and-the-battle-betterbrain-health).

A RESPONSIBLE OWNER AND INVESTOR IN HEALTHCARE COMPANIES As an owner and investor in the healthcare sector, the Foundation’s commercial activities are also part of its commitment to improving health and quality of life. New scientific knowledge and insights are translated into treatments through commercial business models, which can bring products and treatments to the market and thereby also to patients. The Foundation’s ownerships and direct investments are driven with the clear objective of reaching and improving the lives of patients - patients with brain health challenges (as with Lundbeck), patients with respiratory allergy challenges (as with ALK), or people caught in a health emergency situation requiring immediate action (as with Falck).

THE CONSEQUENCES OF BRAIN DISEASES IN DENMARK

To understand the societal burden of brain diseases, the Lundbeck Foundation initiated a scientific study on the occurrence, mortality and cost of brain diseases in Denmark. The team of researchers at Aarhus University published their findings in 2020 showing:

• Approximately one in five Danes will, during the courses of their lives, experience a brain disease • The mortality rate is five times higher for Danes with one or more brain diseases • Brain diseases make up a third of the 21 most common diseases in Denmark • The total direct attributable cost of healthcare services for people with brain diseases in Denmark is estimated at DKK 39bn each year. This is particularly driven by diseases such as depression, stroke, and dementia