I went to the Age1 Ventures community event yesterday evening in San Francisco. It was great to meet @invivo and others on the Age1 team. This is one of the leading venture groups in longevity biotech and they had many founders from their portfolio companies in attendance, as well as many future founders.
If you’re interested in doing a startup in the longevity biotech space, I encourage you to consider making the effort to fund raise from Age1.
Following are some highlights and some of my “take-aways” from the evening:
I spoke with Ashley Zehnder of Fauna Biotech (the company that is focused on learning from the biological processes of hibernating animals and working to translate that knowledge into benefits for humans), mentioned that they have some grant money to do research both into hibernation like states for humans (for space travel), and for people who are seriously injured (to “pause” their biology, and minimize trauma, until they can get treatment). In this area I’m very excited to hear that science fact is trending towards science fiction! More on Ashley and Fauna: Ashley Zehnder- "Beyond human limits: lessons in longevity from earth’s most resilient creatures"
Its always interesting to note the micro-groups in the longevity field have some wildly different perspectives; I was talking with Omri Dori of Renewal Bio (which is focused on organ regeneration), and his perspective is that replacement of organs were pretty much the only way to go (for longevity), and he seemed pretty much against the idea of using rapamycin and other small molecules for longevity at this time. My approach is very-much all inclusive; organ regeneration will be great when it comes, but I’m not waiting. Start with rapamycin and other longevity drugs today, and adopt regenerated organs when they become available. They are not mutually-exclusive.
I spoke to a Korean woman who is a US-based investor in Longevity/health companies and we discussed how Korea is a leader in many areas of skin care and is increasingly targeting pharmaceutical-oriented approaches that demonstrate scientifically-validated therapeutic benefits. I mentioned how much I love Korean sunscreen and if that is any indication I think the future for Korean longevity companies is bright, but it was humorous to note that she only uses European and Japanese sunscreen.
I hope or would find it it interesting if someone would work on something that increase adherance for longevity or health strategies. Adherance is a limiting factor I would assume with very few taking their cholesterol medications or BP meds, for example. As well as lifestyle but GLP-1 agonists help with that and other things as well.
Just something I thought would be some type of full body scanner that instantly shows you a mirror of your entire body but seen through, like a transclucent animal, seeing possible damage. It’s easier to take ezetimibe if you see your plaque in real time. I don’t know if that would increase adherance though (you can try using your phone light on your fingers in a dark room to see your blood vessels).
It doesn’t get any more easy than taking a pill a day. If people aren’t willing to do at least that, why should we force them to take their health seriously? Many people don’t even want to live (longer).
They’re not forced. Just given information that the lizard brain understand. If you can see the injuries inside your body (and brain), in real-time, that might increase compliance.
Many take some rapa, sleep and eat well, a bit of exercise and feel they have done what they can do and then as lemmings just approach the clip of death, albeit at a marginally slower pace of lucky
But the world is ending.
It’s just not ending for each of us and your loved ones at the same time. It IS ending.
From that lens we should all be doing every thing we can to fight - people should be devoting their remaining careers to different things that can push the scientific, technological and medical frontiers of longevity forward.
Think about how we learned that the world was going to end of some other reason - how would individuals, groups, societies and our entire civilization rally?
As a non-scientist with zero education in the biological sciences, I have nothing to contribute to the advancement of the state of the art in longevity.
My personal philosophy is;
does “it” (an intervention of some sort) have good science behind it?
is it available to me, today, at a price I can afford?
if the above 2 are no, then I move on to what I can do today.
Anything else falls into the wishful thinking category and you know what they say about wishes… If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
I’m a very hopeful person and doing what I can but I’m also a realist and fully understand that there is nothing available today that can initiate full body rejuvenation. I try to work with the hand I’m dealt, otherwise I might not do anything.
The fact that most of the members on this forum are trying to do something must be seen as a positive thing. Many believe this movement, seeking longevity, is one of the most important movements in the history of humanity. Every little effort counts as we all get the word out that there are things that can be done TODAY to keep this movement top of mind for the masses.
Being excited about the positive results so many members here are experiencing is vital to stopping the end of the world but dying before that happens or living in a nursing home because one did not do what can be done today, is not helpful.
Being an example today is helpful.
That is why my wife and I entered the Rejuvenation Olympics.
Kids to not continue your consciousness or memories nor do they live forever.
I don’t care about philosophical immortality (plant a tree for future generations and all that garbage) I want actual, biological immortality.
One disappointing bit of news I heard was that the startup targeting fertility and menopause (and likely slowing aging); Oviva therapeutics started by Dr. Daisy Robinton has, unfortunately stopped development, in a process known colloquially as an “acqui-hire” (another company buys the target company only for the people / employees and has no intent to continue developing the IP).
This has happened because, I hear, that they were not able to raise another round of funding due to the current funding crunch in the biotech industry.
This is very disappointing news as Oviva was one of the most promising companies focused on addressing these problems. Perhaps this effort can be restarted when the funding crunch is alleviated and another focused effort can be initiated.
The good news is that at least the trial results of the rapamycin for fertility and menopause are showing very positive results, so that is something that people can start trying today if they are motivated to do so.
Imagine a World Where You Control If and When You Go Through Menopause
Imagine a world in which women get to control when—or even if—they go through menopause. This is the vision CEO Daisy Robinton, PhD, set forth when she cofounded Oviva Therapeutics, a company dedicated to answering the many unanswered questions in female physiology through innovative biomedical research and the development of therapeutics that will delay the decline of the ovaries.
but dying before that happens or living in a nursing home because one did not do what can be done today, is not helpful.