AGING AND DISEASE

Aging is the lead risk factor for disease.

Studies have shown the aging cell to be the leading risk factor for serious pathology and this is why we target cellular aging to combat disease. Simply put, as cells age they become increasingly poor at functioning and repairing damage. And this is why tissues and organs fail and we get disease.

Traditional medicine focuses on treating the symptoms of disease. We are focusing on the root cause. We are developing gene therapies that target cellular aging and encourage cellular and tissue regeneration.
Among the various causes of aging such as cellular senescence, accumulated waste and changes to gene expression are some of the leading risk factors of aging and disease. We are investigating a number of gene targets including telomerase gene therapy, klotho gene therapy, follistatin gene therapy, FGF21 gene therapy, reprogramming factors, and PGC-1a gene therapy.

The promise of gene therapy is delivering

The gene therapy industry is growing. With 9 approved gene therapies and an expected growth of fives times the market size in 5 years, a 30 year promise is now delivering. Gene therapy is defined as the addition, deletion or editing of genes. Genes encode for your physical, mental, and health outcomes.

Our Gene Candidate Target the Hallmarks of Aging

Telomerase Gene Therapy

Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences located at the very ends of our chromosomes. which form a cap like structure that protects the cells from sensing the chromosome tips as ‘damaged’. The telomeres shorten with each cell division and have been likened to the fuse on a stick of dynamite, steadily burning away until depending on the type of cell, they either enter apoptosis (cell death) or enter replicative arrest known as senescence once becoming too short. In addition to this, it has been observed in the tissues of ageing mice and primates, that cells with damaged and dysfunctional telomeres accumulate. This observation supports the notion that telomere attrition and cellular senescence promotes ageing (Fumagalli et al, 2012; Herbig et al, 2006, Hewitt et al, 2012 ).

Klotho Gene Therapy

Klotho has been shown to reverse B Amyloid plaques. Finally, PGC-1a may benefit Alzheimer's patients by helping with mitochondrial function.
Klotho has been shown to reverse B Amyloid plaques. “Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent type of dementia, characterized by the presence of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques. We previously reported that Klotho lowered Aβ levels in the brain and protected against cognitive deficits in amyloid precursor protein/presenilin 1(APP/PS1) mice.”

Follistatin Gene Therapy

Muscle degeneration (sarcopenia) during aging is a significant source of injury and ill health. Sarcopenia represents a major burden on health care services worldwide and is correlated with increased mortality risk and a reduction in quality of life. Myostatin is a muscle growth inhibitor, and Follistatin is a protein that inhibits myostatin.

PGC-1a Gene Therapy

A decline in mitochondrial function plays a key role in the aging process and increases the incidence of age-related disorders, including Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Mitochondria - the power station of the organism- can affect several different cellular activities, including abnormal cellular energy generation, response to toxic insults, regulation of metabolism, and execution of cell death. In AD subjects, mitochondria are characterized by impaired function, such as lowered oxidative phosphorylation, decreased adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, significantly increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and compromised antioxidant defense.