FightAging!
5-13-19
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2019/05/repair-biotechnologies-raises-a-2-15m-seed-round-to-fight-age-related-diseases/
As many of you know, Bill Cherman and I founded Repair Biotechnologies in 2018 with the intent of developing promising lines of rejuvenation research into clinical therapies. There are many opportunities given the present state of the science and far too few people working on them. This remains true even as large amounts of venture funding are entering the space; our field needs more entrepreneurs. I'm pleased to note that we're making progress in our pipeline at Repair Biotechnologies, and have recently closed a seed round from notable investors in order to power us through to the next phase of our work.
What does the Repair Biotechnologies team work on? When we initially set out, after a survey of the field, we settled upon regeneration of the thymus via FOXN1 upregulation as the lowest of low-hanging fruit, a project with good evidence in the literature and the potential of a sizable upside to health in later life when realized. The thymus atrophies with age, and this is a major factor in the age-related decline of the immune system, as the thymus is where T cells mature. Reductions in the supply of new T cells eventually leads to an immune system packed with malfunctioning, senescent, and overspecialized cells that are incapable of defending effectively against pathogens and errant cells.
A little later we picked up development of a fascinating line of research relating to the vulnerability of macrophages to cholesterol. The pathologies of atherosclerosis are caused when macrophage cells become ineffective at clearing out cholesterol from blood vessel walls. They are overwhelmed by oxidized cholesterol in particular, but too much cholesterol in general will also do the trick. Macrophages become inflammatory or senescent, and die, adding their debris to a growing fatty plaque that will eventually rupture or block the blood vessel. By giving macrophages the ability to degrade cholesterol, we can in principle reverse atherosclerosis by making macrophages invulnerable to the cause of the condition. This is, we believe, a much better approach that that of trying to reduce cholesterol in the bloodstream.
Repair Biotechnologies Raises 2.15M Seed Round to Develop Drugs for Age-Related Diseases
Repair Biotechnologies, Inc. announced today 2.15 million in seed venture funding, to accelerate the preclinical development of its pipeline of drugs targeting thymus regeneration, cancer, and atherosclerosis. The 2.15 million in funding was led by Jim Mellon, the billionaire investor and chairman of Juvenescence Ltd. Also participating in the round are Emerging Longevity Ventures, Thynk Capital, and SENS Research Foundation.
"We are committed to developing treatments for the root causes of aging and its associated diseases through the damage repair approach," said Reason, co-founder and CEO. "With this funding round, we will be able to further develop our therapies and validate them in animal models, bringing them closer to the clinic and patients."
The thymus gland is vital to the adaptive immune system, but with age, the thymus shrinks, leading to a decreased immune cell production and a compromised immune system. Repair Biotechnologies is developing a therapy with the aim of reverting this atrophy of the thymus, which the company believes can be an effective treatment against some forms of cancer. Repair Biotechnologies' second major project relates to atherosclerosis, which is caused by the accumulation of intracellular waste in arteries. While present therapies focus on reducing cholesterol, Repair Biotechnologies has licensed a technology to make the macrophage cells responsible for repairing arteries resilient to excess cholesterol, and thus able to repair atherosclerotic damage.
"SENS Research Foundation was founded to push forward proof-of-concept work demonstrating the validity of the SENS paradigm to the point at which people can actually do something with it. Now we're seeing some of these technologies getting the recognition from investors that they deserve, which in turn is driving critical growth in the private-sector side of the field," said Aubrey de Grey, co-founder and Chief Science Officer of SENS Research Foundation. "I'm thrilled to see Repair Biotechnologies taking things in this area to the next level."
5-13-19
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2019/05/repair-biotechnologies-raises-a-2-15m-seed-round-to-fight-age-related-diseases/
As many of you know, Bill Cherman and I founded Repair Biotechnologies in 2018 with the intent of developing promising lines of rejuvenation research into clinical therapies. There are many opportunities given the present state of the science and far too few people working on them. This remains true even as large amounts of venture funding are entering the space; our field needs more entrepreneurs. I'm pleased to note that we're making progress in our pipeline at Repair Biotechnologies, and have recently closed a seed round from notable investors in order to power us through to the next phase of our work.
What does the Repair Biotechnologies team work on? When we initially set out, after a survey of the field, we settled upon regeneration of the thymus via FOXN1 upregulation as the lowest of low-hanging fruit, a project with good evidence in the literature and the potential of a sizable upside to health in later life when realized. The thymus atrophies with age, and this is a major factor in the age-related decline of the immune system, as the thymus is where T cells mature. Reductions in the supply of new T cells eventually leads to an immune system packed with malfunctioning, senescent, and overspecialized cells that are incapable of defending effectively against pathogens and errant cells.
A little later we picked up development of a fascinating line of research relating to the vulnerability of macrophages to cholesterol. The pathologies of atherosclerosis are caused when macrophage cells become ineffective at clearing out cholesterol from blood vessel walls. They are overwhelmed by oxidized cholesterol in particular, but too much cholesterol in general will also do the trick. Macrophages become inflammatory or senescent, and die, adding their debris to a growing fatty plaque that will eventually rupture or block the blood vessel. By giving macrophages the ability to degrade cholesterol, we can in principle reverse atherosclerosis by making macrophages invulnerable to the cause of the condition. This is, we believe, a much better approach that that of trying to reduce cholesterol in the bloodstream.
Repair Biotechnologies Raises 2.15M Seed Round to Develop Drugs for Age-Related Diseases
Repair Biotechnologies, Inc. announced today 2.15 million in seed venture funding, to accelerate the preclinical development of its pipeline of drugs targeting thymus regeneration, cancer, and atherosclerosis. The 2.15 million in funding was led by Jim Mellon, the billionaire investor and chairman of Juvenescence Ltd. Also participating in the round are Emerging Longevity Ventures, Thynk Capital, and SENS Research Foundation.
"We are committed to developing treatments for the root causes of aging and its associated diseases through the damage repair approach," said Reason, co-founder and CEO. "With this funding round, we will be able to further develop our therapies and validate them in animal models, bringing them closer to the clinic and patients."
The thymus gland is vital to the adaptive immune system, but with age, the thymus shrinks, leading to a decreased immune cell production and a compromised immune system. Repair Biotechnologies is developing a therapy with the aim of reverting this atrophy of the thymus, which the company believes can be an effective treatment against some forms of cancer. Repair Biotechnologies' second major project relates to atherosclerosis, which is caused by the accumulation of intracellular waste in arteries. While present therapies focus on reducing cholesterol, Repair Biotechnologies has licensed a technology to make the macrophage cells responsible for repairing arteries resilient to excess cholesterol, and thus able to repair atherosclerotic damage.
"SENS Research Foundation was founded to push forward proof-of-concept work demonstrating the validity of the SENS paradigm to the point at which people can actually do something with it. Now we're seeing some of these technologies getting the recognition from investors that they deserve, which in turn is driving critical growth in the private-sector side of the field," said Aubrey de Grey, co-founder and Chief Science Officer of SENS Research Foundation. "I'm thrilled to see Repair Biotechnologies taking things in this area to the next level."