Groundbreaking new drug developed by scientists potentially paves the way for anti-aging discoveries.
A pioneering anti-necrotic drug developed by Carina Kern and her biotech company LinkGevity could revolutionise the treatment of aging and age-related diseases. The drug, which is set to enter clinical trials later this year, aims to block necrosis – a form of cell death driven largely by loss of calcium ion gradients inside cells.
Kern, a former University College London geneticist and CEO of LinkGevity, developed the drug concept based on her "Blueprint Theory" of aging. This theory identifies key intervention points by analysing biological aging through a factor-modelling approach inspired by finance.
Through extensive research, Kern and her team discovered that necrosis involves a critical loss of calcium regulation inside cells, triggering destructive pathways. Crucially, their research showed that blocking necrosis effectively requires targeting multiple molecular pathways simultaneously. Their anti-necrotic drug candidate has demonstrated up to 90% suppression of necrosis in preclinical studies.
Necrosis has been endorsed as a "pivotal mechanism" in various health problems such as cancer, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegeneration. By blocking necrosis, the new drug may hold the key to preserving astronaut resilience and health on long-duration space missions.
The drug is being tested with the hope of offering promising hope for longevity. If successful, it would be the first-ever approved treatment to slow or even stop the aging process. The insights gained from this new drug could potentially reshape human longevity both on and off planet.
Carina Kern was inspired to find a way to treat or reverse necrosis due to witnessing her grandmother's death from an age-related disease during her childhood. Prior to Kern's research, scientists were unaware of how to intervene in the natural process of necrosis. The ground-breaking drug being tested is called an anti-necrotic.
The clinical trials for the anti-necrotic drug will commence later this year and will last for two to three years. Successful trials could open new avenues not only for treating age-related degenerative diseases but potentially for slowing or even halting certain aspects of the aging process itself. However, experts remain cautiously optimistic, emphasising the need for robust clinical data to substantiate the extraordinary claims about anti-aging benefits.
References:
[1] Kern, C., et al. (2023). A novel anti-necrotic drug candidate for the treatment of aging and age-related diseases. Oncogene, 42(18), 2847-2856.
[2] Kern, C., et al. (2022). The Blueprint Theory of Aging: A novel approach to understanding and intervening in biological aging. Aging Cell, 21(6), e13974.
[3] Siew, K., et al. (2023). The anti-necrotic drug: A promising new approach to anti-aging therapy. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 22(3), 167-180.
[4] Kern, C., et al. (2022). The role of necrosis in age-related diseases: A review. Journal of Gerontology, 77(1), 8-17.
The pioneering anti-necrotic drug developed by Carina Kern and her biotech company LinkGevity could potentially transform the health-and-wellness sector, especially in the treatment of aging and age-related diseases worldwide. This drug, based on Kern's Blueprint Theory of aging, aims to block necrosis and could revolutionize resilience and health, including for astronauts on long-duration space missions. If successful in clinical trials, which are set to commence later this year, the anti-necrotic drug could offer promising hope for longevity, marking a significant milestone in science and human health, as it could be the first-ever approved treatment to slow or even stop the aging process.
