#15 Crypto and longevity: unlikely bedfellows
Despite this week's FTX news, Crypto investors increasingly seek longevity
The Agenda 👇
News bulletin 📰
Crypto and longevity: unlikely bedfellows
Recent funding in longevity 💰
Upcoming events 📅
Jobs in longevity 🧑💼
1/ News bulletin 📰
💊 Insilico Medicine signs $1.2 billion strategic research collaboration with Sanofi - to leverage Insilico’s AI platform to advance drug development candidates
🧠 New biomarker could assist early Alzheimer’s diagnosis - researchers from North Carolina Central University has identified a new p-tau biomarker
⏰ Deep Longevity launches its new SaaS anti-ageing platform, SenoClock - culmination of years of biogerontological research comes to fruition
🧬 Cellular reprogramming extends lifespan and healthspan in Mice - continuous low-dose induction of reprogramming factors was the key
🖥️ Why are crypto and tech investors interested in longevity? - With news of H.E. Justin Sun’s plans to invest $51K into the Longevity Prize, it appears there is marked interest within the crypto and tech communities in longevity science
2/ Crypto and longevity: unlikely bedfellows
Longevity has increasingly been found on the radar of crypto leaders, as innovators and higher risk investors seek to capitalise on a new frontier scientific field. Indeed, among one of the most prominent events in the longevity calendar is the Longevity Investors Conference, which is organized by Marc P. Bernegger and Tobias Reichmuth, previously involved with the Crypto Finance Group.
At this year’s Longevity Investors Conference in September, a small side event titled “Crypto meets Longevity”, drew an unexpectedly large crowd. Many in attendance commented on the contemporary industry’s similarity to the internet in the early 2000s and Bitcoin in the early 2010s. Aubrey de Grey, an author and biomedical gerontologist, highlighted that the mindset of crypto and longevity innovators is very much alike, with both being “completely comfortable working in an area that is still very unorthodox and needs to be taken forward”.
Crypto investors over the past couple of years have piled in on longevity opportunities, as many high-profile names have financed everything from early-stage basic research, to translational applications. Perhaps most notably, Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has donated $25 million to the Future of Life Institute and has donated over $350,000 to the SENS Research Foundation to “reimagine ageing”.
Despite all the enthusiasm however, few clear opportunities between the sectors have transpired. Although the sectors share many parallels in their buccaneering and unconventional bravado, the technological application of crypto in longevity is highly restrictive.
Where there may be some synergy however, is use of the blockchain. Healthcare data is among the most sensitive data individuals possess, and as it becomes more personalised with genetics and multi-omics data, its security will become of paramount importance. Data ownership at the person-level also allows users to earn from their contribution to scientific research; much as their healthcare providers currently can.
Another application of blockchain in the longevity industry is what’s known as decentralised autonomous organizations, or DAOs, and decentralised intellectual property. One existing example is a platform called VitaDAO, a DAO for community-governed and decentralised drug development that collectively funds and digitises research in the form of non-fungible tokens representing IP. Such a use case could ensure researchers better collaborate while safeguarding a fair share of potential proceeds, both reputationally and financially.
The sectors make unlikely bedfellows, but as greater flows of crypto capital enter longevity companies and industry magnates join their boards, we can expect much more than conference side events in the future.
3/ Recent funding in longevity 💰
Juvena Therapeutics raises $41 million to accelerate biologics for age-related diseases
Neurotrack raises $10m and launches 3-minute digital cognitive screening test
4/ Upcoming events 📅
🇧🇪 The Eurosymposium on Health Ageing is a unique biennial meeting of scientists working on the biology of ageing, and their next meeting is in Belgium, November 24-26th.
🇺🇸 The Longevity Summit will be hosting their second annual event in Novato, CA on December 7-8th. The event will unite top longevity entrepreneurs, pharma and biotech companies, longevity investors, researchers, and government organisations from around the world.
🇵🇹 Longevity Med Summit will focus on the development of ageing science, regenerative medicine, and longevity therapeutics. This two-day summit will take place in Lisbon, Portugal on May 4 - May 5, 2023 and feature five themes: Longevity Therapeutics, P4 Medicine, Diagnostics, AI and Digital, and a showcase of new trials and research.
5/ Jobs in longevity 🧑💼
Altos Labs // Director, Cloud Engineering // San Francisco, CA
Alkahest // Research Associate | In Vivo Discovery // San Carlos, CA
Weatherwax Bio // Research Associate | Biology // San Francisco, CA
Cambrian Bio // Product Manager - Geroscience // New York, NY
Insilico Medicine // Business Development Consultant // Europe, Remote