Wellcome Leap

Wellcome Leap
Formation2020 (2020)
FounderWellcome Trust
Type501(c)(3) nonprofit
Location
  • United States
Key people
Regina E. Dugan (CEO)
Jay Flatley (Chairman)
Websitewellcomeleap.org

Wellcome Leap is a nonprofit organization that funds health research programs. It was established in 2020 by the Wellcome Trust, a UK-based charitable foundation, with initial funding of US$300 million.[1] The organization's model is based on the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) model, designed to deliver results in three-year, milestone-driven programs.[2] As of 2025, the organization launched 12 programs across 30 countries, supported by over 160 institutions, nonprofits, and companies.[3]

History

The Wellcome Trust announced the creation of a £250 million fund in 2018 to support high-risk health research projects.[4] The initiative was set up as a subsidiary of the Wellcome Trust with an independent board.[5] Wellcome Leap was formally launched in May 2020 with Regina E. Dugan, former director of DARPA, as CEO and Jay Flatley, former CEO of Illumina, Inc., as chairman.[1]

In February 2022, the Wellcome Trust provided an additional US$335 million in funding, bringing the organization's total funding to over US$635 million.[6]

In April 2023, Wellcome Leap partnered with Temasek Trust to launch a US$60 million program focused on aging and health.[7]

In September 2025, the organization announced a US$100 million partnership with Pivotal Ventures, founded by Melinda French Gates, to fund women's health research. The new funding will launch two programs in 2026, expanding Wellcome Leap's total women's health investment to $250 million.[8][9]

Structure and approach

The organization funds time-limited research programs, typically lasting three years, with defined goals and milestones.[1] Researchers work from their home institutions rather than a central facility.[10]

The organization has established a network of research institutions that have signed a standard funding agreement intended to reduce administrative delays in starting projects.[6][11] As of 2025, Wellcome Leap launched 12 programs across 30 countries, supported by over 160 institutions, nonprofits, and companies.[3] As of 2025, Wellcome Leap has created the largest, most rapidly 'activatable' health research network in the world, with around 150 world-class institutions, non-profits and commercial entities representing a network of over 1.5M scientists and engineers across six continents.[12]

Women's Health

Wellcome Leap has committed over $250 million to accelerate innovation in women’s health and has designed programs to improve health outcomes at every stage of a woman’s life[13]. The In Utero program is focused on developing new technologies that can be used at scale to measure and predict how a baby is developing in the womb[14]. Wellcome Leap’s Cutting Alzheimer’s Risk through Endocrinology (CARE) program is tackling neurodegeneration with the goal of cutting women’s lifetime risk of Alzheimer’s – who make up two-thirds of all cases – by 50%, potentially preventing more than 50 million cases by 2050[15]. The Missed Vital Sign initiative aims to transform the diagnosis and treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) – a condition that affects 1 in 3 women worldwide by reducing the time it takes a woman to get effective treatment from 5 years to 5 months[16]. VISIBLE, a program jointly funded with Pivotal and supported by the British Heart Foundation, aims to increase the proportion of women presenting with stable angina who receive effective diagnosis and treatment for coronary microvascular disease from less than 1% today to more than 80%[17].

These efforts reflect Wellcome Leap’s focus on closing critical gaps in women’s health research and outcomes. The organization’s goal is to invest $1 billion in philanthropic capital for breakthroughs in under-researched conditions that disproportionately affect women[18].


Leadership

Regina E. Dugan serves as CEO. She previously served as the 19th director of DARPA from 2009 to 2012, becoming the first woman to lead that agency.[1][19] She subsequently held executive positions at Google and Facebook.[8]

Jay Flatley serves as chairman. He was previously CEO of Illumina, Inc., a genomics company.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Wellcome Leap nabs $300M, ex-DARPA, Illumina execs to battle global health problems". Fierce Biotech. May 13, 2020.
  2. ^ "Wellcome Leap launches $50 million bioengineering initiative". Philanthropy News Digest. November 2, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Wellcome Leap and Pivotal Commit $100 Million to Research on Conditions that Disproportionately Affect Women". Femtech Insider. September 10, 2025.
  4. ^ "Wellcome Trust Launches $332 Million Research Fund". Philanthropy News Digest. July 10, 2018.
  5. ^ "Biomedical charity places major bet on 'bold' research to win bigger payoffs". Science Insider. July 18, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Wellcome Leap receives additional $335 million from Wellcome Trust". Philanthropy News Digest. February 10, 2022.
  7. ^ "Wellcome Leap, Temasek Trust launch $60 million health program". Philanthropy News Digest. April 25, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Pivotal, Wellcome Leap invest $100M in women's health research". Fierce Biotech. September 10, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  9. ^ "Wellcome Leap and Pivotal commit $100 million to women's health research". Alliance Magazine. September 10, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  10. ^ "Wellcome Leap". Wellcome Trust. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  11. ^ "Why One of the Largest Health Funders Launched a Spinoff Research Organization to Speed Innovation". Inside Philanthropy. February 10, 2022.
  12. ^ "Wellcome Trust 2023/24 Annual Report". Wellcome Trust. January 14, 2025.
  13. ^ "Wellcome Leap and Pivotal Commit $100 Million to Women's Health Research to Deliver Breakthroughs in Years, Not Decades". Globe Newswire. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  14. ^ "Wellcome Leap In Utero – harnessing new technologies for next generation antenatal care". Sands. Sands UK. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
  15. ^ "Wellcome Leap Launches $50M Program to Reduce Women's Alzheimer's Risk". FemTechInsider. FemTech. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
  16. ^ Boles, Sy. "A condition more common than asthma or diabetes, yet often ignored". The Harvard Gazette. Harvard University. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  17. ^ O'Sullivan, Anna. "Wellcome Leap launches $55m program to tackle overlooked heart disease in women". Future Fem Health. Retrieved Feb 10, 2026.
  18. ^ Masson, Gabrielle. "Time to 'stop tolerating women's pain and suffering': Melinda Gates-backed research initiative raises $100M". Fierce BioTech. Retrieved Sep 10, 2025.
  19. ^ "Wellcome Leap". Financial Times. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
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