Friday, June 21, 2019 – Today Insilico Medicine, a biotechnology company developing the end-to-end drug discovery pipeline utilizing the next generation artificial intelligence, and the Scheibye-Knudsen Lab, University of Copenhagen, announce the presentation of Reason, Co-founder and CEO of Repair Biotechnologies; Founder and writer of Fight Aging!, at the 6th Aging Research, Drug Discovery, and AI Forum during the Basel Life Congress, September 10-12, 2019, Basel, Switzerland.
Repair Biotechnologies is one of a growing family of companies focused on reversing aspects of the progression of aging through repair of the deeper underlying causes of aging and age-related disease. Repair Biotechnologies is developing two distinct approaches for treatment. One approach is the regeneration of the involuted thymus, in order to restore active tissue involved in the maturation of T cells. Atrophy of this tissue with age reduces the supply of new T cells and contributes significantly to immunosenescence and inflammaging. Thymic regrowth is well demonstrated in mice to at least partially restore the flow of recent thymic emigrant cells and reverse the loss of competent T cells in older individuals. The master regulator of thymic growth and T cell maturation activity, FOXN1, is well known and well characterized, making this a very promising target for modern gene therapy techniques.
The second approach is the reversal of atherosclerotic lesions through intervention at the macrophage, rather than at blood cholesterol levels. Atherosclerosis is a leading cause of death worldwide, with no therapy yet shown in human trials to achieve more than a minor reversal of existing lesions. The development of lesions is driven by macrophage dysfunction, induced particularly by oxidized lipids, and resulting in the foam cell phenotype. Macrophages can be made resilient to the inflammatory, foam cell fate, or given the capacity to more aggressively dispose of atherosclerotic lesion contents. What is known of the mechanisms of atherosclerosis marks this as a promising category for the development of interventions.
“It is critical for our industry to do better at translation of promising research. The thymus is one of the keys to rejuvenation of the aged adaptive immune system, while atherosclerosis kills perhaps a sixth of everyone – and yet all too many of the best potential approaches to therapy, in either case, have languished untended for years in the valley of death between lab and clinic,” said Reason, Co-founder and CEO of Repair Biotechnologies; Founder and writer of Fight Aging!.
“I am really grateful that Reason from Repair Biotechnologies is joining us in Basel. Repair Biotechnologies is a recently founded company that deals with two main issues that occur with aging: cardiovascular disease and immunological dysfunction. I therefore very much look forward to learning about their approach and making progress within these critical subjects,” said Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, MD, Ph.D., University of Copenhagen.
“Over the last 5 years, the “Aging & Drug Discovery” and “AI for Healthcare” forums have been leading events at BaselLife, attracting hundreds of delegates from over 50 countries. This year, we are combining the 2 platforms into a 3 day-event titled “the 6th Aging, AI and Drug Discovery Forum” to explore the convergence of these 2 cutting edge disciplines. Under the program leadership of Professor Morten Scheibye-Knudsen and Dr. Alex Zhavoronkov, with distinguished scientists and industry experts in the field, we look forward to exploring breakthroughs for this great healthcare need for the planet,” said Dr. Bhupinder Bhullar, Chair, Innovation Forum program committee, Basel Life 2019.
“The 6th annual Aging Research, Drug Discovery, and AI Forum at Basel Life will have a fresh program featuring some of the most prominent scientists and industry players in aging and longevity research covering the theory, applications and convergence of these three exciting areas,” said Alex Zhavoronkov, Ph.D., Founder, and CEO of Insilico Medicine, Inc.
The 6th Aging Research for Drug Discovery Forum Basel will bring together leaders in the aging, longevity, and drug discovery field, to describe the latest progress in the molecular, cellular and organismal basis of aging and the search for interventions. Furthermore, the forum will include opinion leaders in AI to discuss the latest advances of this technology in the biopharmaceutical sector and how this can be applied to interventions. This event intends to bridge academic and commercial research and foster collaborations that will result in practical solutions to one of humanity’s most challenging problems: aging. The Forum will be held in Basel, Switzerland, September 10-12, 2019.
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For further information, images or interviews, please contact:
Ola Popova ola@pharma.ai
About Reason
Reason is co-founder and CEO of Repair Biotechnologies, a biotech startup working on means of rejuvenation of the thymus and reversal of atherosclerosis. He is the founder and writer of Fight Aging!, which has been a leading voice in the longevity biotechnology and patient advocacy communities for more than fifteen years. Reason is also an active angel investor in the rejuvenation biotechnology space, and has for many years led and aided non-profit fundraising for academic research into rejuvenation via repair of molecular damage.
About Repair Biotechnologies
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. Founded in 2018 by Reason and Bill Cherman, Repair Biotechnologies is developing therapies with the goals of reversing atherosclerosis and atrophy of the thymus.
This year Repair Biotechnologies raised $2.15 million seed round, 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.
Official website: https://www.repairbiotechnologies.com
About Fight Aging!
Fight Aging! began as a longevity science and advocacy blog in 2004, an outgrowth of a similar initiative called the Longevity Meme that ran as a news service and online resource from 2001 to 2011. Fight Aging! continues in its stead. Both projects originate with Reason, a patient advocate with a long-standing interest in the development of health- and longevity-enhancing medical technologies.
The Fight Aging! mission remains the same as it was at the outset: to encourage the development of medical technologies, lifestyles, and other means that will help people live comfortably, healthily, and capably for as long as they desire, well beyond the current limits of mortality.
Official website: https://www.fightaging.org/
About Insilico Medicine, Inc
Insilico Medicine is an artificial intelligence company headquartered in Rockville, with R&D and management resources in Belgium, Russia, UK, Taiwan, and Korea sourced through hackathons and competitions. The company and its scientists are dedicated to extending human productive longevity and transforming every step of the drug discovery and drug development process through excellence in biomarker discovery, drug development, digital medicine, and aging research.
In 2017, NVIDIA selected Insilico Medicine as one of the Top 5 AI companies in its potential for social impact. In 2018, the company was named one of the global top 100 AI companies by CB Insights. In 2018 it received the Frost & Sullivan 2018 North American Artificial Intelligence for Aging Research and Drug Development Award accompanied with the industry brief. Brief company video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l62jlwgL3v8.
Official website: http://insilico.com
About the Scheibye-Knudsen Laboratory
The growing proportion of the elderly population represents an increasing socioeconomic challenge, not least because of age-associated diseases. It is therefore increasingly pertinent to find interventions for age-associated diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and cardiovascular diseases. Although the cause of aging is currently unknown accumulation of damage to our genome, the DNA, may be a contributing factor.
In the Scheibye-Knudsen lab we try to understand the cellular and organismal consequences of DNA damage with the aim of developing interventions. We have discovered that DNA damage leads to changes in certain metabolites and that replenishment of these molecules may alter the rate of aging in model organisms. These findings suggest that normal aging and age-associated diseases may be malleable to similar interventions. The hope is to develop interventions that will allow everyone to live healthier, happier and more productive lives.
Laboratory website: http://scheibye-knudsen.com/
About the University of Copenhagen
With over 40,000 students and more than 9,000 employees, the University of Copenhagen is the largest institution of research and education in Denmark and among the highest ranked universities in Europe. The purpose of the University – to quote the University Statute – is to ‘conduct research and provide further education to the highest academic level’. Approximately one hundred different institutes, departments, laboratories, centres, museums, etc., form the nucleus of the University.
University Website: http://introduction.ku.dk/presentation/
About Basel Life 2019
Aging Research for Drug Discovery Forum description In this symposium, leaders in the aging, longevity, and drug discovery field will describe the latest progress in the molecular, cellular and organismal basis of aging and the search for interventions. Furthermore, the forum will include opinion leaders in AI to discuss the latest advances of this technology in the biopharmaceutical sector and how this can be applied to interventions. This event intends to bridge academic and commercial research and foster collaborations that will result in practical solutions to one of humanity’s most challenging problems: aging. A panel of thought-leaders will give us their cutting edge reports on the latest progress in our quest to extend the healthy lifespan of everyone on the planet. Conference Official Website: https://www.basellife.org/2019.html
