Skip to main content

Or 34,00 After 66% tax deduction

I make a monthly donation I make an IFI donation
Support

The Brain Fund, an investment fund that raises capital for Paris Brain Institute, concludes its first funding round

Published on: 30/10/2023 Reading time: 1 min
Wellcome collection

The Brain Fund, a private equity co-investment fund, aims to secure sustainable funding for Paris Brain Institute to support its research teams’ projects and drive the development of new treatments for nervous system disorders. Managed by the Impact Partners firm, it has today concluded its first funding round, having raised €25 million.

Established at the initiative of the Paris Brain Institute Friends Committee, a committee of twenty high-level figures whose mission is to boost public donations to the Institute, the Brain Fund has active support from Jean-Charle Decaux, CEO of JCDecaux, Maurice Lévy, President of the Executive Board of Publicis Groupe, Eddie Misrahi, President of Seven2, and Serge Weinberg, President of Weinberg Capital Partners and Paris Brain Institute Treasurer. The purpose of the fund is to make 10 to 15 co-investments in three years alongside major buyout funds in Europe. 80% of the returns generated by the fund will go to Paris Brain Institute, while 20% will go to fund subscribers.

The purpose of the Brain Fund is to provide Paris Brain Institute with a new source of funding, in addition to its support from sponsors, donors and testators, and funding from competitive grants secured by researchers or the Institute itself.

For us, this first fund is a sign that, just like philanthropy, private equity will become increasingly important in research. We are hoping that this new investment pillar will enable us to launch vital research projects. Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as well as psychiatric disorders and epilepsy- and stroke-induced disorders are a major public health challenge. These challenges need creative, effective and personalized solutions. This is something that cannot be accomplished in an uncertain environment: to achieve our major research ambitions, we also need a long-term financial vision.

Gérard Saillant President of Paris Brain Institute

An efficient and sustainable financial structure

The Brain Fund is designed to provide sustainable support for research, based on the “endowment” model of major American foundations. It will mobilize successive private equity funds of €25–30 million for co-investment via LBOs alongside major investment funds, with no management fees or outperformance premium for the Brain Fund.

Twenty-four investors have subscribed to this first fund, including institutional investors such as Banque des Territoires, large companies such as Publicis, Klesia and Engie, and many family offices and entrepreneurs. It has already completed or initiated five co-investment transactions alongside HLD, IK Partners, Keensight Capital and Seven2.

This success proves that the model is attractive to investors who want to actively support Paris Brain Institute’s mission to discover pioneering therapeutic solutions for nervous system disorders while making a small return on investment. It has also been well received by several management companies, which have already offered, or are ready to offer, co-investment opportunities.

Eddie Misrahi member of Paris Brain Institute’s Friends Committee

All of the legal work required to establish the fund and make the investments has been done pro bono by the teams at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP in Paris.

Our news on the subject

De gauche à droite : Lionel Naccache, Jean Todt, Gérard Saillant et François -Paul Journe
F.P.Journe and Paris Brain Institute celebrate 20 years of partnership with a new collaboration: the RnD Unit F.P.Journe
Paris Brain Institute is proud to be celebrating 20 years of partnership with its first and longest-standing private funder: the watchmaking company F.P.Journe. This partnership, based on shared values of trust, loyalty and excellence, has seen F.P ...
09.17.2024 Support
Une tête de statue de l'île de Pâques sur laquelle sont posées des éléctrodes
A multimodal approach to better predict recovery in patients with disorders of consciousness
When a patient is admitted to intensive care due to a disorder of consciousness—such as a coma—establishing their neurological prognosis is a crucial yet challenging task. To reduce the uncertainty that precedes the medical decision, a group of ...
05.30.2024 Research, science & health
Leucodystrophie
New gene therapy for metachromatic leukodystrophy proves effective in mice
Metachromatic leukodystrophy is a rare genetic disorder that mainly affects young children and results in severe neurological symptoms accompanied by a loss of motor and intellectual capacities. At Paris Brain Institute, Françoise Piguet and her ...
04.22.2024 Research, science & health
La construction de l’attention visuelle mise en évidence au niveau neuronal
The construction of visual attention highlighted at the neuronal level
A giant billboard flashes on the side of a country road. Why does it catch our attention more easily than other details in the landscape? At Paris Brain Institute, Tal Seidel Malkinson, Jacobo Sitt, Paolo Bartolomeo, and their colleagues show that ...
03.26.2024 Research, science & health
Modélisation en 3D
A new model to predict brain development
From the very first weeks of life, countless connections are forged between neurons to ensure the propagation of nerve signals. These connections gradually shape the final architecture of the brain, known as the connectome. Our ability to perform ...
03.08.2024 Research, science & health
sclérose en plaques
Multiple sclerosis: new study highlights five warning signs of the disease
What if the biological mechanisms that cause multiple sclerosis were triggered years before clinical diagnosis? This is what a team at Paris Brain Institute suggests in a new study published in Neurology. The researchers show that, on a population ...
12.06.2023 Research, science & health
See all our news