Fight Aging!

Aikora Health and Foresight Institute recently collaborated to host a gathering of investors, entrepreneurs, and supporters from the core rejuvenation biotechnology community. The event was held in San Francisco, and I attended to present a summary of ongoing work at Repair Biotechnologies. It was an interesting mix of local folk and visitors from across the US, a chance to catch up with fellow travelers from other companies and some of our investors. As you probably know, the SENS Research Foundation and a number of influential aging research institutions, such as the Buck Institute, are based in the Bay Area. It has long been the case that the venture and technology communities in California include many people sympathetic to the SENS goal of bringing aging under medical control - it isn't a coincidence that the SENS Research Foundation set up their research center in this part of the world.

The presentations were recorded, and in the video here see my outline in addition to those by principals at the Methuselah Fund, Leucadia Therapeutics, and Turn.bio. As you might recall, Repair Biotechnologies is working on reversal of atherosclerotic lesions, aiming to prevent the contribution of this condition to late life mortality, and regrowth of the thymus, so as to restore the pace of creation of T cells, and improve immune function in later life. We recently raised our seed round, so we're hard at work in the lab at the moment.

The other two biotech companies are working on very interesting projects, and I've mentioned both in the past here at Fight Aging! In the case of Leucadia, you might look at the presentation given by Doug Ethell at Undoing Aging 2018 for a good overview of the company and its approach. It is exactly the sort of radically different, cost-effective approach to Alzheimer's disease that we'd like to see more of. Turn.bio is equally radical in the goal of a href="https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2019/03/turn-bio-transiently-reprogramming-cells-to-near-pluripotence-as-a-therapy-for-aging/">transiently reprogramming cells in vivo, spurring them into the improvements observed in the reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent cells: repair of mitochondrial function, possibly repair of other molecular damage, and reversion of epigenetic markers of aging. There should be more of this sort of ambition in evidence in the biotechnology community.

Methuselah Fund, Leucadia Therapeutics, Turn Biotechnologies and Repair Biotechnologies

Four presentations at "Biotech Investing in Longevity" on 1st May 2019 in San Francisco: Sergio Ruiz - Methuselah Fund; Doug Ethell - Leucadia Therapeutics; Vittorio Sebastiano - Turn Bio; Reason - Repair Biotechnologies.

The Methuselah Fund is designed to accelerate results in the longevity field, extending the healthy human lifespan. They measure their success not just by financial return-on-investments but also by what they call return-on-mission. Their DNA stems from The Methuselah Foundation, which has been working hard during the last 18 years to make 90 the new 50 by 2030.

Leucadia Therapeutics is determined to end Alzheimer's disease with Arethusta, a first-in-class treatment for mild cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer's disease. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) clears toxic metabolites from intercellular spaces in the brain, much as the lymphatic system does in the rest of the body. The first regions of the brain to be impacted by Alzheimer's disease are cleared by CSF that drains across a porous bone called the cribriform plate. Aging and life events can occlude the cribriform plate and reduce the CSF-mediated clearance of toxic metabolites from those regions of the brain, thereby causing plaques and tangles formation. Leucadia's patented Arethusta technology restores CSF flow across the cribriform plate, improving the clearance of toxic metabolites from the earliest regions of the brain to be affected by Alzheimer's disease.

Turn.bio develops a transient reprogramming protocol that has demonstrated a youthful reversion of eight of the nine hallmarks of aging. Reversion of the ninth is being currently being developed. They technology has already been proven to rejuvenate five different tissue types of the human body with more being evaluated. Osteoarthritis, skin damage, and sarcopenia are all proven targets of the technology, with other indications soon to be tested.

Repair Biotechnologies is a longevity company with the mission to develop and bring to the clinic therapies that significantly improve human healthspan through targeting the causes of age-related diseases and aging itself. The company currently runs two preclinical development programs: the first for thymus regeneration and immune system restoration, and the second for reversal of atherosclerosis.

Aikora Health and Foresight Institute joined forces to organize a series of talks on biotech investment and longevity. They gathered a curated group of entrepreneurs, scientists, and investors to discuss exciting projects that seek to extend human healthspan, surveying a diversity of novel approaches, and discussing which ambitious goals are realistically within our reach.

Aikora Health connect investors with companies, founders and scientists in the health tech, genomics, and regenerative medicine sectors. Our key focus is on longevity tech with the potential to transform healthcare and human aging. We offer insight and information regarding the biotech and increasingly important longevity space, in addition to matching founders of biotech and longevity companies with funding and strategic partnerships.

Foresight Institute is a leading think tank and public interest organization focused on emerging world-shaping technologies. It was founded in 1986 on a vision of coming revolutions in technology that will bring extraordinary opportunities, as well as unprecedented challenges. Foresight's mission is to steer towards positive futures, futures of Existential Hope.