“My mother suffered from Alzheimer’s for 14 years, and my father took on all caregiving responsibilities—so much so that I didn’t realize just how bad the disease had progressed,” said Jerre Stead. “He was very protective of her, but it took such a toll on his own life.”
During that time, in the early 1990s, there was less awareness around Alzheimer’s and few resources. When Jerre’s dad passed away, the family discovered there weren’t facilities equipped to handle patients like their mom who had dementia. Jerre’s seed investment helped create the first memory care facility of its kind in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which was named after Jerre’s mother.
Since that time, Jerre and Mary Joy have been committed to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s. They helped establish three Alzheimer’s Association chapters across the country, and Jerre served on the Alzheimer’s Association national board of directors. Over the years, their multifaceted approach to the problem has made advances in diagnostics, therapeutics, and care, and has also fueled research in prevention therapy.
“Jerre and Mary Joy are believers in making change through action and investment,” said Harry Johns, past president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association and Alzheimer’s Impact Movement (AIM), and an ALZpath director. “Few people on the investment side of the equation have the grasp of the impact that the nonprofit and for-profit sides together can have. Jerre has long been a strong advocate personally of the Alzheimer’s Association and AIM, and he played a key role in helping us move federal funding from $450 million to $3.7 billion, and that is helping everyone affected by Alzheimer’s.”
In 2006, Jerre and Mary Joy helped found the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, and along with Dr. Eric Reiman, set the goal of finding a prevention for Alzheimer’s within 20 years so that another generation isn’t lost to the disease.
“Without Jerre and Mary Joy’s bold commitment, there would not be a field of Alzheimer’s prevention research today,” said Reiman, MD, CEO of Banner Research, executive director of Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, co-founder of ALZpath and a scientific advisory board member of Amydis.
“The Stead’s strategic investments convinced the NIH to provide support, and with that in hand, we were able to act like Tom Sawyer and get the pharmaceutical companies to paint the fence with their drugs and provide even larger contributions, and to take a risk in evaluating prevention therapies when there was no clear FDA path,” Reiman said. “Thanks to Jerre and Mary Joy, we have a realistic chance to find and support the first Alzheimer’s prevention therapies within the next two to three years.”
Stella Sarraf, PhD, is a serial entrepreneur committed to making an impact in the lives of millions throughout the world battling neurological conditions through two of the companies she has founded, Amydis and Spinogenix. Both companies are in Phase 2 human clinical trials and have achieved their success with the support of Stead Impact Ventures.
“Much of what is being developed right now to treat neurodegenerative diseases has focused on slowing the process of deterioration,” said Sarraf. “At Spinogenix, we are working to restore brain functions of people with disorders like ALS and Alzheimer’s. I am incredibly thankful for Stead Impact’s investment and Jerre’s mentorship. He understands the needs and sees the vision, which has been priceless.”
“The synergies we have created between the nonprofits and start-ups we have invested in has accelerated their impact exponentially,” said Jerre. “I want to see that in the other areas we are committed to–mental health and obesity–so we can bend the curve there, too.”
