Sets precedent in supporting newly re-formed global organization

LONDON, March 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dennis and Mireille Gillings Foundation today announced that it is donating $300,000.00 to support the efforts of the World Dementia Council (WDC). This represents the first donation to the WDC, which re-formed on February 25 in London as a fully independent and globally representative organization dedicated to leading and coordinating global efforts to tackle dementia.

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Previously supported by the UK government, the WDC has now expanded to include a wide range of dementia stakeholders in a concerted effort to address the global dementia crisis.

"Mireille and I are delighted to make this financial commitment to support efforts to tackle the emerging global crisis of dementia," said Dr. Dennis Gillings, former chair of the WDC. "Today, 47.5 million people worldwide have dementia, a figure which is forecast to rise three-fold by 2050 to 135.5 million.¹ There is no time to lose."

"Accelerating global action on dementia is a subject close to both Dennis and my hearts, and has been a particular interest throughout my career," said Dr. Mireille Gillings. "This donation is in line with the Dennis and Mireille Gillings Foundation's vision of developing leaders with skills in all of the 'three Ms' –medicine, money and management – to steer society toward more healthy aging."

"Heartfelt thanks to Mireille and Dennis, whose visionary philanthropy in the field of public health will help the WDC build further momentum," said the new chair of the WDC, Dr. Yves Joanette. "We hope this donation will motivate other stakeholders in the fight against dementia to invest in the WDC's future," said Dr. Joanette, who is Scientific Director at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Aging.

About the World Dementia Council
The World Dementia Council is a group of independent individuals from a wide range of constituencies – people with dementia, pharma industry, regulatory, charities, research organizations, care providers and finance/economics, with a broad range of skills, and from different parts of the world who together will seek to lead and coordinate global efforts to tackle dementia, ensure a collaborative approach to addressing the challenges posed by dementia and galvanize action all over the world, including through others, in the areas of awareness, prevention, diagnosis, stigma, disease-modification, cause and care. Visit https://worlddementiacouncil.wordpress.com/ for further information.

About The Dennis & Mireille Gillings Foundation
The Dennis & Mireille Gillings Foundation was created with the mission of accelerating progress in global public health. Through the Foundation, Drs. Mireille and Dennis Gillings support various projects, including global public health fellowships and research involving cancer, precision medicine and thrombosis.

Mireille Gillings, PhD, is the founder, CEO and Executive Chair of HUYA Bioscience International, the privately held global leader in accelerating development of biopharma innovation originating in China. As a visionary leader in the biotech sector, Dr. M. Gillings has a unique balance of scientific and operational experience, preclinical and clinical drug development, academic partnering programs and business leadership. At Quintiles, a Fortune 500 company, Dr. M. Gillings was the first woman to be appointed to the Board of Directors since the company's privatization and subsequent IPO. Dr. M. Gillings is Co-founder and non-Executive Vice Chair of GHO Capital, a European private equity fund specializing in global health opportunities. She is also a member of the U.S. Pasteur Foundation Board. 

Dennis Gillings, CBE, PhD, founded and is on the board of Quintiles and is a leading pioneer of the contract research organization industry. He received a Doctor of Philosophy in mathematics from the University of Exeter, and was professor of biostatistics at UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Dennis Gillings was awarded the Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) and in 2014 was appointed World Dementia Envoy by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron. He is co-founder and non-executive Vice Chair of GHO Capital, a European private equity fund specializing in global health opportunities.

¹ http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs362/en/

SOURCE The Dennis & Mireille Gillings Foundation