Foundation For a Better World Honors Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation with Inaugural Claugus Award

The Foundation For a Better World (FFBW) recently honored the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) with the inaugural Claugus Award for its commitment and dedication to Alzheimer’s research. The award includes $250,000 to be invested in research furthering the ADDF’s mission of accelerating the discovery of drugs to treat, prevent and cure Alzheimer’s disease.

The Claugus Award aims to recognize and amplify the work of those who have devoted their lives to the betterment of the world, placing great value on both leadership and empathy. The ADDF exemplifies the spirit of this award through its drive to support the most innovative science in the ongoing search for treatments and prevention strategies for Alzheimer’s disease, according to Beatriz Illescas-Putzeys Claugus, the FFBW’s President. She added, “This award serves to recognize the ADDF’s desire to do good for humanity through discovering drugs that may one day ensure no one else has to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.”

The Foundation For a Better World funds numerous organizations worldwide fighting to find cures for neurodegenerative diseases, improving access to quality education, and supporting major global development initiatives in the developing world.

“When I began thinking of our areas of focus at the FFBW, Alzheimer’s disease came to mind as a growing global health burden and huge unmet need, one that the ADDF has been taking great strides to fill,” said Tom Claugus, Chairman of the FFBW. “The FFBW views medical research as the field that can provide the highest value to society and there’s no other organization that compares to the ADDF in terms of unmatched, laser-focused dedication to cutting-edge science. They’ve really laid the groundwork for the field.”

Recognizing the meaningful partnership forged between the two organizations over the past four years, Illescas-Putzeys Claugus, who also serves on the ADDF’s Board of Governors, added that the FFBW chose the ADDF as its primary funding recipient because of their collaboration supporting numerous promising phase 2 clinical trials, including one targeting oxidative stress and another focused on senolytics, novel drug targets associated with the biology of aging.

“We are honored to be recognized with the Claugus Award, and being the inaugural recipient makes it that much more meaningful,” said Howard Fillit, the ADDF’s Founding Executive Director and Chief Science Officer. “In addition to our commitment to funding the most exciting science available, part of what makes the ADDF special is the shared dedication of every individual to finding a cure. We are proud to have the partnership of the FFBW, which, with this new award, makes it possible for us to drive forward even more crucial research, including advancing clinical trials, many of which are now in phase 2 and are expected to report out in the next year or so.”

The Story Behind the Award

The Claugus Award is represented by an original sculpture, titled “Unity,” from Guatemalan artist Arturo de la Riva, a childhood friend of Illescas-Putzeys Claugus who founded a pre-school in Guatemala and represented her country as Consul General to Houston, Miami and Atlanta before beginning her work with FFBW. “It was very important to me to honor my roots when it came to creating this award,” she explained. “The sculpture is an interpretation of a microscope, constructed from three intertwined glass elements representing the FFBW, the ADDF and the award, all of which work together to make the world a better place.”