At a Glance

  • The T1D Fund has undergone a major shift in leadership within the past five years.
  • 9 new investments were made in companies researching T1D therapies (since the 2024 review).
  • The majority (6/9) of new investments focus on tackling the T1D immune response.
  • One new investment is the evolution of an existing potential Practical Cure trial.

May 8, 2025

This report provides two updates on the T1D Fund (the Fund). The updates address recent changes in leadership and present new investments.

The most recent review of the Fund was published by the JDCA in July 2024, providing a full profile of the Fund. This report specifically focuses on changes made since that publication.
 

Background

The T1D Fund was founded in 2016 to bring venture capitalist practices to T1D research. It operates as an independent subsidiary of Breakthrough T1D.

The mission of the Fund is to accelerate “life-changing solutions to treat, prevent, and cure type 1 diabetes.” It focuses investments on commercial-stage companies developing T1D therapies, receiving ownership equity in return. Since all investments are in commercial enterprises, which succeed only when a product goes to market, there is built-in urgency to get therapies into the hands of patients as soon as possible.

The Fund is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), even though it takes an equity stake in the companies in which it invests. Investors in the Fund itself do so as a charitable gift and do not receive nor expect to share Fund profits. Any gain from a profitable investment exit is reinvested in the Fund itself and/or provided to Breakthrough T1D.
 

Leadership Changes

Two long-serving co-managing directors of the Fund have left the organization and been replaced with a single CEO.

The departing co-managing directors were instrumental in building the Fund from the ground up. The reason for their departures was not publicly announced, so it is unclear whether they were terminated or simply decided to move on. The two are:

  • Katie Elias: Served for 6 years; departed November 2024.
  • Stephen St. Peter: Served for 5 years; departed in January 2025.

Elias and St. Peter were replaced by Elizabeth Milly, who started in January 2025 as the first CEO of the Fund. Milly is supported by Managing Director Sylvia Tobé, who appears to be a clear #2 and has worked for the Fund for a year.

Elizabeth Millie: CEO

Milly was appointed CEO of the Fund in January of this year. She has thirty years of experience in pharma, healthcare investment banking, and strategic leadership. Prior to joining the Fund, Millie served as the executive vice president of strategy & business development at Bristol Myers Squibb. 

Sylvia Tobé: Managing Director

Tobé was appointed managing director of the Fund in April 2024. Prior to joining, she was a principal on the investment team of Omega Funds, a biotechnology and healthcare-focused venture capital firm.


Additional Changes

Members of the investment committee and board have changed materially since 2020.

Investment Committee

Four of the original six members of the investment committee have departed. Total committee members have dropped from six to five.

For the first time, the investment committee chair is an operating executive, CEO Millie. In previous years, the chair was a member of the board of directors. In addition, Tobé has also joined the committee.

Board

Sean Doughtery, founder of the T1D Fund, has taken a step back in the past several years. Previously, he was both the chairman of the board and the investment committee. Doherty remains in a senior advisory position.

Timothy Clark replaced Doughtery as board chair in October 2023. Clark is a founding member of the T1D Fund Board of Directors and the T1D Fund Investment Committee, which he chaired from 2017-2020.

All other board positions have changed. Aaron Kowalski, CEO of Breakthrough T1D, and Karen Jordan, the chairman of Breakthrough T1D’s research committee, are the only two unchanged. 


New Investments

By the numbers:

  • 9 new investments since JDCA’s review in early 2024.
  • The majority (6/9) of companies received funding to support Immunotherapy projects.
  • 4 investments are in human clinical trials.
  • 1 investment, Sana Biotechnology, evolves a current Practical Cure project.

The majority of new investments are Immunotherapies—projects aiming to overcome the immune system’s attack on insulin-producing cells (see chart A). 
 

Chart A: Summary of New T1D Fund Investment Companies