The Michael J. Fox Foundation
Investments
75Portfolio Exits
10Partners & Customers
10
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Latest The Michael J. Fox Foundation News
Sep 21, 2023
Fox Foundation to Support Wide-scale Study Exploring Link Between Smell Loss and Parkinson’s uMed Partners with The Michael J. Fox Foundation to Support Wide-scale Study Exploring Link Between Smell Loss and Parkinson’s uMed partners with The Michael J. Fox Foundation to run its smell test study in the UK as part of a global programme to explore the link between smell loss and Parkinson’s disease uMed will enroll eligible patients from over 500 primary care group providers and facilitate the distribution of 15,000 scratch-and-sniff home tests Its technology and network address challenges facing clinical trials, which include engaging large and inclusive patient cohorts as well as empowering over-stretched healthcare professionals to contribute to important research LONDON, 20th September 2023: uMed , the health and research technology company, today announced The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) has selected its service to support the global expansion of its wide-scale study exploring the link between loss of smell and brain disease. The smell test study, which is part of MJFF’s landmark brain health initiative, the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) , will utilise uMed’s network of more than 500 primary care provider groups in the UK to engage eligible participants. uMed will facilitate the distribution of 15,000 University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Tests (UPSIT), a scientifically validated scratch-and-sniff test of smell ability, to individuals aged 60 and older in the UK without Parkinson’s. Current research into Parkinson’s indicates that 100% of major brain disorders are associated with smell loss and 96% of newly diagnosed Parkinson’s patients have lost some of this sense. In addition, the condition can precede diagnosis by years or even decades. However, the challenge — as with many research studies — is in engaging large patient cohorts that represent a diverse population. While large academic centres and research sites are set up to support research, many struggle to enrol and retain large numbers of patients. Reuse of limited, local clinical populations can also affect the generalisability of findings to the wider population. Across all research, 85% of clinical trials face delays and 30% never get off the ground due to a lack of volunteers. By leveraging technologies such as uMed, it’s possible to rapidly and efficiently reach more participants and enable the delivery of larger, more ambitious trials than ever before. By partnering with uMed, The Michael J. Fox Foundation can access hundreds of primary care providers whose involvement in clinical studies is critical for the advancements in research. Without uMed, these non-traditional research sites often lack the financial and human capital or the technical tools required to regularly engage their patients while balancing care. uMed will send an SMS invite to potential participants, aged over 60 and without a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, on behalf of the patient’s recognised care provider before taking them to a screening portal. The free and simple scratch-and-sniff tests will then be delivered to consenting participants who will upload their results online. Eligible volunteers will be contacted by a nurse and referred to a clinic site for additional follow-up. Volunteers who join PPMI at a site share critical information through clinical assessments, imaging scans and biological samples over at least five years. “Advances toward better treatments and cures for Parkinson’s disease require partnership with a diverse, broad base of study participants,” says Maggie Kuhl, MJFF Vice President of Research Engagement. “More simple and efficient tools that can deliver participation opportunities will help us overcome barriers to engagement and connect with more potential volunteers. uMed’s network and service is a valuable tool in helping our PPMI study drive faster recruitment of representative populations, speeding breakthroughs for all.” The study, which has started enrollment in the UK, has already seen increased engagement of potential volunteers wanting more information and consenting to receive smell tests at home. To date, a third of patients who have been sent an SMS invitation to the study are clicking through to the study website to find out more information. In addition, 11% have consented to receive a smell test kit at home. Dr Matt Wilson, uMed’s founder and CEO, comments: “We are proud to play our part in accelerating significant advancements in Parkinson's research. Our technology will help The Michael J. Fox Foundation to reach its goals of driving more than 100,000 UPSIT completions globally. Engaging with a patient cohort of this size is critical if we are to enhance our understanding of this progressive disease and develop advanced therapies to improve patient outcomes.” Wilson adds, “That being said, we know how hard it is to get impactful research off the ground. Our technical infrastructure and consumer-based marketing techniques enable researchers to develop, manage and engage large-scale patient cohorts in research programs. What’s more, we are democratising access to research for non-traditional research sites and their patients who might otherwise lack the technical infrastructure and staff capacity required to engage tens of thousands of patients across multiple studies. The result is that many patients contacted by uMed have never been invited to participate in research before. In a separate Parkinson’s study supported by uMed, more than 80% of patients reported they had never been asked to participate in research before.” The partnership between uMed and The Michael J. Fox Foundation follows uMed’s experience in successfully delivering other Parkinson’s studies including the Predict-PD study run by Queen Mary University of London (also a PPMI clinical site). uMed increased monthly patient enrolment by 275%, as well as successfully recruiting a large population of patients from ethnic minorities. It is also running an ongoing observational study AccessPD , a next-generation patient registry which is supporting the development of better treatments for patients with Parkinson’s. uMed is a clinical research and population health technology company dedicated to transforming the lives of those living with disease by improving access to research and healthcare. The uMed platform enables healthcare institutions to participate in programmes that target specific patient groups for research and population health activities by taking on the workload of identifying, screening and engaging their patients on their behalf. The platform uses health record data to target specific patient groups, and then automates and tailors communication with patients including collection of patient-reported outcomes. This approach enables healthcare institutions to participate in a range of programmes including clinical trial recruitment, registries and population health initiatives to address care gaps at scale, and without burden to clinical staff. uMed was founded by Dr. Matt Wilson, an NHS doctor and anaesthetist. The healthtech works with top pharmaceutical companies and academic researchers from across the globe, and its technology is embedded across a vast network of providers that represents millions of lives across the UK, US and Canada. For more information, visit https://www.umed.io/ Editor Details
The Michael J. Fox Foundation Investments
75 Investments
The Michael J. Fox Foundation has made 75 investments. Their latest investment was in Nine Square Therapeutics as part of their Grant on September 9, 2023.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation Investments Activity

Date | Round | Company | Amount | New? | Co-Investors | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9/12/2023 | Grant | Nine Square Therapeutics | $4.5M | Yes | 2 | |
8/9/2023 | Grant | Stealth BioTherapeutics | Yes | 1 | ||
7/17/2023 | Grant | NysnoBio | Yes | 2 | ||
6/20/2023 | Grant - II | |||||
6/6/2023 | Grant |
Date | 9/12/2023 | 8/9/2023 | 7/17/2023 | 6/20/2023 | 6/6/2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Grant | Grant | Grant | Grant - II | Grant |
Company | Nine Square Therapeutics | Stealth BioTherapeutics | NysnoBio | ||
Amount | $4.5M | ||||
New? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Co-Investors | |||||
Sources | 2 | 1 | 2 |
The Michael J. Fox Foundation Portfolio Exits
10 Portfolio Exits
The Michael J. Fox Foundation has 10 portfolio exits. Their latest portfolio exit was ZyVersa Therapeutics on December 12, 2022.
Date | Exit | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Acquirer | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
12/12/2022 | Reverse Merger | 2 | |||
3/18/2021 | IPO | Public | 4 | ||
9/21/2020 | Acquired | 15 | |||
Date | 12/12/2022 | 3/18/2021 | 9/21/2020 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Exit | Reverse Merger | IPO | Acquired | ||
Companies | |||||
Valuation | |||||
Acquirer | Public | ||||
Sources | 2 | 4 | 15 |
The Michael J. Fox Foundation Partners & Customers
10 Partners and customers
The Michael J. Fox Foundation has 10 strategic partners and customers. The Michael J. Fox Foundation recently partnered with Quansys Biosciences on August 8, 2023.
Date | Type | Business Partner | Country | News Snippet | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
8/1/2023 | Partner | United States | The partnership between Quansys Biosciences and MJFF is a major milestone in the fight against Parkinson 's disease . | 2 | |
5/24/2023 | Vendor | United States | H1 and The Michael J. Fox Foundation team up to fuel Parkinson's research Michael J. Fox Foundation has selected H1 's Trial Landscape solution , which allows organizations uncover a diverse pool of investigators and sites that have access to the right patient population to run a successful clinical trial based on past performance and future indicators , to improve and transform its education and research initiatives . | 1 | |
4/26/2022 | Vendor | United States | 1 | ||
4/14/2022 | Partner | ||||
1/26/2022 | Partner |
Date | 8/1/2023 | 5/24/2023 | 4/26/2022 | 4/14/2022 | 1/26/2022 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Partner | Vendor | Vendor | Partner | Partner |
Business Partner | |||||
Country | United States | United States | United States | ||
News Snippet | The partnership between Quansys Biosciences and MJFF is a major milestone in the fight against Parkinson 's disease . | H1 and The Michael J. Fox Foundation team up to fuel Parkinson's research Michael J. Fox Foundation has selected H1 's Trial Landscape solution , which allows organizations uncover a diverse pool of investigators and sites that have access to the right patient population to run a successful clinical trial based on past performance and future indicators , to improve and transform its education and research initiatives . | |||
Sources | 2 | 1 | 1 |
The Michael J. Fox Foundation Team
10 Team Members
The Michael J. Fox Foundation has 10 team members, including current Founder, Executive Vice President, Deborah Brooks.
Name | Work History | Title | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Deborah Brooks | Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and Goldman Sachs | Founder, Executive Vice President | Current |
Name | Deborah Brooks | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Work History | Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and Goldman Sachs | ||||
Title | Founder, Executive Vice President | ||||
Status | Current |