Novel rejuvenation therapy funded through an IP-NFT
We are pleased to announce that Molecule’s IP-NFT funding framework will facilitate critical preclinical work in Dr. Amit Sharma’s laboratory at the SRF Research Center.
Heinrich Tessendorf
VitaDAO funded the ApoptoSENS project with $252,000, purchasing an exclusive license to spin out a company using the developed senolytic CAR-NK cells. The research in Dr. Amit Sharma’s laboratory focuses on the effects of aging and underlying cellular mechanisms that dictate the functionality of our immune system. More particularly, his work at the SRF Research Center, as part of the broader ApoptoSENS project theme, aims to harness the immune system to mitigate deleterious effects of dysfunctional cells that accumulate with age.
“The process of grant proposal review was unique in its nature of community involvement with individuals from different backgrounds asking relevant questions that further enriched the project and the scientific approach. The entire VitaDAO community was very enthusiastic and supportive of scientific development. The collaborations between traditional scientific community and IP-NFTs can serve as a viable alternative model for future biomedical research.” - Dr. Amit Sharma
The Research
With prolonged lifespan, more and more cells throughout our body experience various stress events that arrest them at a state of terminal growth in a process called cellular senescence. Cellular senescence contributes to complex effects on physiology and disease processes, either in a beneficial way (e.g. wound healing) or extensively detrimental as it triggers or exacerbates numerous age-related diseases. With increasing evidence that senescent cells adversely affect aging-associated declines and malfunctions, targeted strategies have been explored to selectively destroy senescent cells to onset rejuvenating benefits and ameliorate or reverse multiple diseases of aging. Senescent cells differ greatly from healthy cells in the patterns of several cell surface markers that can serve as markers and therapeutic targets.
Dr. Sharma’s team previously set out to identify such cell surface markers uniquely present in senescent cells and successfully identified 3 promising candidates that serve as the basis for the project funded here. The validated surface markers will now be used to create designed natural killer cells, named CAR-NK cells, that specifically target senescent cells and allow their immune system-mediated clearance as a potential new form of therapeutic intervention.
The Importance of Connecting BiotechDAOs to the Real World
If R&D IP is siloed and owned by individual companies, these companies could have a very strong bias towards only publishing positive data and this leads to information asymmetry. In contrast, an open research community would achieve desired outcomes comparatively faster if research was done collaboratively with unbiased sharing of results. True scientific learning would be enabled and the myriads of duplication work through failed experiments also has the potential to reduce R&D costs on scale. Connecting BiotechDAOs to real world projects would be a key facilitator here.
About the author
Heinrich Tessendorf
Previously, I worked in pharma and longevity research, seeing firsthand how chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes erode health over time. Now, as an ACE-Certified Personal Trainer & Longevity Coach, I help professionals build strength, stay pain-free, and move better for decades to come.
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