David Gobel cofounded the Methuselah Foundation with Aubrey de Grey and continues to run the Foundation. It has given millions of dollars to regenerative medicine, backing ventures such as Organovo, Oisin Biotechnologies, and SENS Research Foundation.
Organovo invented and is now selling high-fidelity 3D human liver and kidney tissues to the research market, is providing contract services, and is on track to deliver a 3D liver patch to the clinic in two years.
Silverstone Matchgrid, has saved the lives of over 1,000 people due to our investment in its paired kidney donation software. The software is now used in over 35 hospitals in the U.S., Europe, and soon, Saudi Arabia.
They have very high expectations for Oisin Bio and OncoSenX. They should be in Phase 1 safety trials by mid-2019. They hope to provide it to some patients much sooner than previously possible, as the FDA is liberalizing treatment availability via the recently passed “Right to Try” legislation.
There are two major challenges to clearing senescent cells using the Oisin approach.
* First is to design and create the DNA construct that recognizes that a cell has become senescent, and then destroys it.
* Second is to safely and efficiently deliver this construct into cells throughout the body.
Both goals have been achieved in their pioneering proof of concept experiments in 2016.
Oisin first demonstrated the ability to transduce cells both in vitro (cell culture) and in vivo (in aged mice). Then we showed that p16 positive senescent cells can be killed on demand in both in vitro and in vivo environments. Now they are embarked on experiments that will show improvements in both healthspan and lifespan in model organisms from mice to primates.
Leucadia Therapeutics is a startup focused on defeating Alzheimer’s disease. This is progressing and promising. They hope to have major news later this year.
David Gobel was the first to put forward the concept of longevity escape velocity, or LEV. How far are we from LEV, assuming the current pace of research and no serious showstoppers?
Twelve years, or 2030, is David’s best guess based on what is known today. He anticipates that within 3 years, some interventions will be available via safety trials and that people who are treated will receive benefits that put them on a path toward LEV. He believe things will accelerate from there, as vastly more attention is triggered by early advances. We are seeing the first