The Longevity Molecule
The global elderly population is projected to substantially increase throughout the 21st century. By the year 2100 a fifth of the total world population will be aged 65 or older posing a serious socioeconomic challenge to societies world-wide.
Project Team
Institutions
Project Status
Funding Opportunity
Background
What if therapeutics to slow down the aging process and prevent age-related disease already existed? Recently, in an unprecedented effort, a large-scale study employing advanced machine learning methods analyzed medical records from over 4 million individuals in the Danish Health System’s medical and prescription records. The study, consisting of over 1.4 billion prescriptions, found that a number of prescription drugs were highly associated with longer life- and health-span in long-live populations. Here, we present a unique investment opportunity. We seek to validate these observations through a series of carefully conducted wet lab experiments. If successful, this work could result in the repurposing of several FDA-approved therapeutics for the purpose of extending human lifespan, at a lower cost and over faster timelines than conceivably possible with de novo drug discovery. This unique investment opportunity allows savvy longevity investors the chance to own a share of the potential intellectual property generated from these studies, and in turn, a potential share in the future of life extension.
Project Details
The global elderly population is projected to substantially increase throughout the 21st century. By the year 2100 a fifth of the total world population will be aged 65 or older posing a serious socioeconomic challenge to societies world-wide. Interventions that ensure healthy aging are therefore of critical importance.
Project Timeline
Pre-Clinical Studies 1: Testing in Fruit Flies and Human Cells
Required Funding$500,000
Statusongoing
Duration24 MonthsTesting the identified drugs ability to attenuate features of aging in a controlled laboratory setting. Here, we will test the molecules in human cells and in the animal model drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies). We are testing the drugs in human cells to rapidly understand how the molecules affect human cellular aging. Fruit flies are used extensively in biomedical research and particular aging research as they have a short lifespan of about 60 days.
Pre-Clinical Studies 2: Testing in Mouse Models
Required FundingN/A
Statusplanned
Duration18 MonthsAfter a successful testing in fruit flies and cells, we will perform compound optimisation in cell lines and proceed to test the compound for age-attenuation in mice. For compound optimisation we will utilise medicinal chemistry allowing better efficacy, solubility, stability and tolerability. For the mice, will specifically test toxicology on optimised compounds and how age-associated features, such as hearing, is affected.
Clinical Trials 1: Human Trials
Required FundingN/A
Statusplanned
Duration24 MonthsWe will transition to clinical trials and test the age-attenuating effect of the compound in healthy volunteers. Fortuitously, Morten Scheibye-Knudsen runs the largest recruitment platform for volunteers for clinical trials in Denmark.