17 December 2018

We're just fighting death, aren't you?

Companies that develop fantastic medicine

Dmitry Glubokov, Habr

I want to talk about companies engaged in research and development in the field of aging biology and therapy of age-related diseases. It seems to me that it is necessary to draw people's attention to the problems of medicine, healthcare and aging in general, since these problems bring great harm to humanity in all its spheres. Aging and death are the things that unite humanity, no matter what your worldview, material condition, status, race, age or health status. I warn you right away that there may be many new and incomprehensible terms ahead, even though I have tried to decipher all these terms. 

1. Human longevity. Country: USA | Funding: $300M

Human Longevity is a company founded in 2013 in San Diego. The company aims to create the largest and most complete database of genotypes, phenotypes and clinical data of people. HLI develops and applies large-scale computing and machine learning in order to improve medical practice. On the basis of this organization, there is Health Nucleus, a clinical research center that positions itself as a leading platform for collecting health information. Anyone can write to this center, and they will immediately answer you and tell you about everything they can do with you. So, for just $5,500 and in 3-4 hours you will be tested in full. Data collection includes:

– Complete sequencing of your genome;
– MRI of the whole body;
– MRI of the brain (for some reason highlighted separately, perhaps this is a special type of MRI);
– CT of the coronary artery;
– Laboratory blood test;
– Analysis of the composition of the body (the ratio of the mass of muscle, bone and adipose tissues of the body to determine the physical capabilities of a person).

In addition, for a surcharge of $800, you can get something from this:

– MRI of the heart;
– Multi-purpose DNA analysis for predisposition to colon cancer;
– Wireless heart rate monitoring.

After such an analysis, you will be consulted about the next steps to monitor your health. All this, of course, is only for residents of the USA.

2. Celularity. Country: USA | Funding: $290M

A biotech company that develops and implements cellular medicine (cell therapy) in order to use new methods for the treatment of autoimmune and degenerative diseases, immuno-oncology and functional regeneration. The methods are based on the use of stem cells obtained from the placenta. At the moment, there are already products on the market: BIOVANCE, intended for use as a biological membrane membrane that preserves the extracellular matrix (tissue substances outside the cell) and supports the restoration of damaged tissue, consists of amniotic (placental) cells; Interfyl, which is also based on placental cells and is also used for tissue regeneration.

3. BlueRock Therapeutics. Country: Canada | Funding: $225M

The company was founded in 2016. The main goal is to develop regenerative medicines for intractable diseases. The company is developing the Cell + Gene platform, which is designed to manufacture and supply native cellular and engineered cellular therapies. They use pluripotent stem cells for development (that is, cells that can eventually differentiate into all types of cells, except for placenta and yolk sac cells).

4. Unity Biotechnology. Country: USA | Funding: $208.3M

The main goal of the company is to eliminate accumulated aging cells (senescent cells, SNCs). Treatment methods are being developed to selectively eliminate aging cells in order to stop, slow down or reverse age-related disease and restore tissues to a more functional and healthy state. More specifically, the company has a production process with the following areas: treatment of the human musculoskeletal system (emphasis on osteoarthritis), treatment of ophthalmic diseases (a product codenamed UBX1967, which is an inhibitor of specific members of the Bcl-2 family of regulatory apoptosis proteins).

5. Osiris Therapeutics. Country: USA | Funding: $65M

Osiris Therapeutics is a company dealing with stem cells for regenerative medicine aimed at the treatment of inflammatory, cardiovascular, orthopedic diseases and wound healing. The following products already exist: 

  • Grafix – cryopreserved placental membrane consisting of extracellular matrix (collagen, fibroblasts, mesenchymal stem cells, epithelial cells); 

  • Cartiform – allograft for the restoration of articular cartilage; 

  • BIO4 is a bone matrix consisting of mesenchymal stem cells, osteoblasts and osteoprogenitor cells (cells forming osteoblasts);

  • Stravix is cryopreserved placental tissue.

6. resTORbio. Country: USA | Funding: $65M

The company was founded in 2016. In the name of the company, you can notice the abbreviation TOR. I won't bother too much and will take the definition from Wikipedia: "Mammalian target of rapamycin (TOR); mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR); FK506 binding protein 12-rapamycin associated protein 1 (FRAP1)) is a serine–threonine specificity protein kinase that exists in the cell as a subunit of intracellular multimolecular signal complexes TORC1 and TORC2. As part of these complexes, TOR regulates cell growth and survival. The TORC1 complex is the target of the immunosuppressant rapamycin (this explains the name of the protein "rapamycin target")." Studies have been conducted that have proven the effect of mTOR on aging. That is, aging is not only cellular wear, but also complex specific intracellular processes, one of which is mTOR. In addition, presumably, TORC1 affects various body systems regarding the aging of these systems. However, TORC2 works the other way around, that is, it reduces the lifespan. This company has developed a method in which mTOR is "tuned to the mode" of inhibiting TORC1 without inhibiting TORC2.

7. Alkahest. Country: USA | Funding: $50M

The company is developing a therapy aimed at working with human blood components. The company has identified specific proteins (chronokins) whose concentration increases with aging, as well as those proteins whose synthesis decreases with aging. Chronokins that reduce the likelihood of developing age-related diseases are candidates for replacement or supplementation, while "bad" chronokins are supposed to be inhibited or removed. At the moment, the company is developing two drugs with the code name AKST/GRF6019 and AKST4290.

8. Calico. Country: USA | Funding: $1.5B

Calico (California life company) is a company owned by Alphabet, whose mission is to use advanced technologies to improve understanding of the biological processes that control life expectancy. The company focuses on interdisciplinary and long-term research. Founded in 2013. Perhaps it would be worth telling more about her.

9. Alzheon. Country: USA | Funding: $37M

Alzheon is developing a drug codenamed ALZ-801, which, judging by current research, is well tolerated and can slow down the course of the disease in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

10. Neuraly. Country: USA | Funding: $36M

Neuraly is a subsidiary of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine biotechnology company and aims to introduce the first modifying agent for the therapy of neurodegenerative disorders and aging.

11. Elysium. Country: USA | Funding: $28M

The main goal of the company is to solve problems in the field of healthcare with the help of science. At the moment, various studies are being conducted that are related to the physiology of the skin, microbiome, muscles, cognitive functions and circadian rhythm.

12. Nuritas. Country: Ireland | Funding: €23.9M

Nuritas uses artificial intelligence and genomics to research so-called bioactive peptides. Bioactive peptides (BP) are organic substances formed by amino acids connected by covalent bonds known as amide or peptide bonds. Although some BP exist in their natural form, the vast majority of known BP are encoded in the structure of parent proteins and are released mainly by enzymatic processes. Some BP were obtained by chemical synthesis. PD plays an important role in human health, affecting the digestive, endocrine, cardiovascular, immune and nervous systems. BP are considered biologically active regulators of a new generation; they can prevent oxidation and microbial degradation in food, as well as improve the treatment of various diseases and disorders, thereby improving the quality of life.

13. Samumed. Country: USA.

The company's work is aimed at combating oncological diseases and research in regenerative medicine. There is a so-called Wnt signaling pathway, which is one of the intracellular signaling pathways that regulates cell embryogenesis and the development of malignant tumors. Samumed develops methods of treating diseases based on the management of this signaling pathway. The company has already discovered many new biological processes associated with the Wnt pathway, identified new biological targets and developed low-molecular-weight drugs that affect the activity of Wnt.

14. Bioquark. Country: USA

Bioquark is a company that is engaged in very ambitious research. They directly declare that they are fighting death, fatal diseases and aging in general. The most interesting thing is that the company conducts research on the regeneration of the body even after death. That is, we can say that they want to start raising people from the dead. It sounds fantastic, but some people are trying to do it (or at least talk about it on a serious level). Of course, it is possible that all this is just a marketing ploy, but even if this is the case, the attention to the problems they cover can only increase, which will definitely affect the awareness of a large number of people of these problems in society and the scientific community.

15. Insilico Medicine. Country: USA/Russia

A company that researches aging processes, as well as drug development, using the latest advances in machine learning. Its founder Alexander Zhavoronkov is a scientist working in the field of biotechnology, regenerative medicine and the economics of aging.

16. Telomere Diagnostics. Country: USA

Telomere Diagnostics, Inc. is a privately held molecular testing company founded in 2010 by a group of four scientists, including Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2009 for her pioneering work in the field of telomere biology. The company recently launched TeloYears, a simple genetic test that detects the cellular age encoded in your DNA so that you can find out your biological age. Telomeres shorten with age. To measure the length of telomeres, the company has developed its own method of quantitative analysis of polymerase chain reaction. 

Why telomeres? DNA is the "program code" of life and is found in almost every cell of all living beings, "packed" into chromosomes. As is known, in humans, each of the cells (except sex) contains 46 chromosomes. In order for an organism to grow and function, cells must divide and produce new cells in order to replace the old ones. Telomeres are the end sections of chromosomes that perform a protective function in the same way as the tips of shoelaces protect them from being soaked. With each cell division, the telomeres lose part of their telomeric DNA, and when the telomeres become too short, the cell stops multiplying and dies. Thus, the loss of telomeric DNA at each cell division acts as an aging clock throughout the life of the cell. Therefore, it is important to fix their length in the body.

17. Oisin Biotechnologies. Country: USA

As mentioned above, the aging of the body is a consequence of the aging of cells. Oisin Biotechnologies is developing methods for cleaning aging cells. In 2016, two goals of the organization were achieved: the creation of such DNA that would recognize and destroy aging cells; safe and effective delivery of this design to cells throughout the body. At the moment, the company is experimenting with the developed technology.

18. Elevian. Country: USA | Funding: $5.5M

Studies have shown that elderly animals experience regeneration in many tissues and organs during blood transfusion of young animals. The opposite is also true: young animals experience accelerated aging when transfused with the blood of older animals. Researchers at Elevian have identified specific circulating factors that may be responsible for these effects. One example, a natural molecule known as "growth differentiation factor 11" (GDF11), when injected into elderly mice, reproduces the regenerative effects of young blood. GDF11 supplements reduce age-related hypertrophy of the heart, accelerate skeletal muscle recovery, increase endurance during exercise, improve brain function and cerebral blood flow, and improve metabolism. Elevian is developing a range of therapeutics that regulate GDF11 and other circulating factors in order to restore the body's natural ability to regenerate, which they believe eliminates the root cause of age-related diseases.

19. BioViva. Country: USA

For me, this is one of the most interesting companies. Their CEO is a well–known woman Elizabeth Parrish, and she is known for being the first woman to agree to gene therapy. In 2015, Elizabeth conducted two gene therapies. The first was designed to suppress age-related muscle loss caused by a protein called myostatin, which was injected into the leg muscles. The average person loses 50% of their muscle mass by the age of 80. This age-related muscle atrophy, known as sarcopenia, is associated with many age-related disorders and leads to poor quality and life expectancy. The second therapy was aimed at preventing telomere shortening. In September 2015, it was revealed that Elizabeth has extremely short telomeres, like a person who is 60 years old. In March 2016, another telomere measurement was performed. It became known that telomeres increased by 10%. This meant that in just six months, Elizabeth's cells had become 20 years younger. Gene therapy restored the telomere size to normal. In 2018, the last measurement of telomeres was made, which, as it turned out, increased by another 10% percent from the result of 2016, which is equivalent to cell rejuvenation for another 10 years. This result exceeded expectations. Firstly, because no negative effects of therapy have been identified so far. That is, cancer did not develop due to the alleged danger of activation of the telomerase enzyme. Secondly, telomeres continued to get longer without any additional treatment. The consequence of such changes was the reversal of muscle degradation: muscle mass has increased and remains stable at a normal level for 3 years. At the moment, it is not completely known whether telomere enlargement occurs in all cells of the body. The people at BioViva are trying to figure this out.

The company already has some ready-made products:

  • MapMyFitness ($299) is a DNA analysis aimed at providing information about the personalization of diet and training.

  • Whole Genome Sequencing ($2,199) – complete DNA analysis.

  • MapMyHealth ($379) is also part of DNA analysis, which aims to correct and optimize lifestyle.

Research and development in the field of gene therapy continues.

20. GERO. Country: Russia

Biotech is a startup and a community consisting of people from interdisciplinary fields. At the moment, the company has developed an application Gero Healthspan.

21. Youthereum Genetics. Country: Russia

The company was founded by Yuri Deigin. This is probably the most unusual startup at the moment. On the company's website there is a pdf file with goals, strategy and explanations about their activities. After reading it, it seems to me, there are no questions left. The main goal is to find ways to safely epigenetic reset (epigenetic reset). I will try to explain what it is. There is a special type of pluripotent stem cells – Induced stem cells (Induced pluripotent stem cells, iPSC). Their main property is that they can return from an adult state to an embryonic one. iPSC technology was developed by Shinya Yamanaka Laboratory in 2006, which showed that the introduction of four specific genes (Oct-3/4, Sox family, Klf family, Myc family – OSKM) encoding transcription factors can transform adult cells into pluripotent. Yamanaka was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this discovery. It is assumed that thanks to this technology, so-called epigenetic reprogramming can be used. What is epigenetics, epigenetic clocks and more, is described in the article by Yuri himself.

* * *

So, I analyzed 21 organizations that deal with age-related diseases and the study of the aging processes of the body. I may not have fully disclosed the goals, research, and current status of some of them in more detail. To do this, it would be necessary to thoroughly study the history of news and published articles of each company, which could take a huge amount of time, since at the moment I have no education in medicine, biochemistry, cell biology, and so on. If you are aware of any organizations dealing with such things, I would be glad to know about them. In addition, I will not refuse advice on my further path in this field from people who are engaged in similar things (bioinformatics, bioengineers, machine learning specialists in medicine and biology, etc.).

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru


Found a typo? Select it and press ctrl + enter Print version

Related posts