KIZOO

Kizoo commits €300 million to advance rejuvenation startups MoglingBio is developing new pharmacological approaches to rejuvenate old stem cells of the hematopoietic (blood cell formation) system

Aging causes stem cells to lose their normal structure by increased activity of the protein CDC42 This loss of structure leads to decreased production and quality of blood and immune cells It can cause leukemia, various blood diseases, and severely weaken the immune system Normalizing CDC42 activity can restore structure, order and functionality in those aged stem cells Treated cells can perform their tasks again in a juvenile way, and thereby contribute to both, the rejuvenation of stem cells and the immune system

Elastrin is developing therapeutics that render calcified tissue and organs supple again by removing pathological calcification, specifically from sites where elastin has been degraded

Its underlying technology was developed by Dr Naren Vyavahare and Dr Charles Rice over the last 20 years at Clemson University The Elastrin team has developed a platform that allows for substantial rejuvenation of the cardiovascular system and could restore organ function & skin elasticity to youthful levels This is achieved by targeting albumin nanoparticles loaded with therapeutic agents directly to the tissue site of interest with the company’s proprietary anti-elastin monoclonal antibody

Cellvie is a Harvard spin-off pioneering Therapeutic Mitochondria Transfer (TMT) leveraging the therapeutic potential of mitochondria

The company was founded by Drs McCully, Schueller, del Nido and Emani Dr McCully pioneered the approach of mitochondria augmentation and replacement at Harvard Medical School and the team has now set out to bring it about as a new treatment modality in ischemia-reperfusion injury and beyond to slow or reverse degenerative processes of aging linked to the mitochondria

Revel opens up an entirely new field in the treatment of age-related molecular damage – breaking crosslinked collagen fibers

Collagen is an essential part of the structural framework of the body Unfortunately, it sometimes binds with glucose to form stiff, sofar unbreakable bonds that accumulate over time Crosslinks cause hardening of tissues such as muscle, skin, and arteries leading to increased blood pressure, vascular damage, and wrinkling of the skin

Revel will produce crosslink-breaking drugs

The basic technology was developed at Yale University, funded by the SENS Research Foundation and the Forever Healthy Foundation

Cyclarity develops easy-to-use drugs that prevent common age-related conditions such as atherosclerosis, heart-attack and stroke by addressing the root cause – a build-up of arterial plaque

The company’s technology removes arterial plaque by clearing the non-degradable cholesterol that accumulates within cells in the arterial walls

Cyclarity’s long-term goal is to deliver a simple and affordable preventive therapy for the world

The basic technology was developed in the SENS lab, co-funded by the Forever Healthy Foundation

MAIA Biotechnology is dedicated to developing targeted cancer therapies with novel mechanisms of action that are intended to meaningfully improve and extend the lives of patients with cancer

Telomerase is present in 90% of human cancer cells and contributes significantly to proliferative abilities and immortality of cancer cells It is either absent or shows low activity in normal cells THIO(6-thio-dG) is recognized by telomerase and incorporated into telomeres Once incorporated, it compromises telomere structure and function, leading to ‘uncapping’ of the chromosome ends resulting in rapid tumor cell death

LIfT Biosciences is developing the world’s first cell therapy to destroy all solid tumours, irrespective of strain or mutation by building the World’s 1st cell bank of innately cancer killing neutrophils (a type of white blood cell)

The cell bank will enable LIfT to provide a range of potentially life-saving immuno-oncology cell therapies for different solid tumour types The first step is to show remission in high unmet need solid tumours by 2021, including Pancreatic Cancer

Turn Biotechnologies is a Stanford spinout developing therapies to effectively return mature differentiated cells to a dramatically younger state leaving their differentiated identity unaltered

​Turn Biotechnologies surpasses traditional approaches based on single gene/pathway manipulations and tackles the multifaceted manifestation of cellular age at the organ, tissue, and organismal level to extend the healthspan of people As a result, age is reset by epigenetically reprogramming cells

Elevian is a Harvard spinout developing therapeutics to stimulate regenerative capacity, the body’s ability to repair itself, that declines as we age

Elevian’s founders have identified circulating blood factors, including GDF11, that broadly stimulate regenerative capacity in aged animals in many organs and tissues (e g brain, heart, pancreas, muscle, and others) Initially planned indications include Alzheimer’s disease, heart failure, Type II diabetes, and age-related muscle dysfunction

Antoxerene uses proprietary next generation screening technology to identify small-molecule compounds that target pathways of aging

The team focuses on next generation screens with higher predictive value than traditional approaches and expects first on-target therapeutic candidates for the p53/MDM2 pathway, a oncology target, and the p53/FOXO4 pathway, a newly identified pathway involved in cellular aging

​FoxBio will develop Antoxerene’s collection of small molecules that specifically target senescent cells

There has been a lot of interest surrounding the therapeutic applications of senolytic drugs – compounds that clear toxic senescent cells – particularly with respect to age-associated disease As molecular pathways unique to senescent cells have begun to be identified, drugs to target these pathways can now be developed

AgeX Therapeutics is applying technology relating to cell immortality and regenerative biology to aging and age-related diseases

The company has three initial areas of product development: pluripotent stem cell-derived brown adipocytes; vascular progenitors; and induced tissue regeneration Initially planned indications for these products are Type II diabetes, cardiac ischemia, and cancer respectively