San Francisco-based startup Unity Biotechnology has recently attracted significant attention from large investment companies and venture capitalists in the biotechnology industry. The company has been working on a research with great pharmaceutical potential for five years now, having received initial funding from venture capital firms such as Arch Venture Partners.
During the Series B venture capital investment phase, the startup managed to raise a hefty $ 116 million. This amount was “generated” by investments from companies such as Fidelity Management and Research Company, Bezos Expeditions (the investment arm of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos), Partner Funds Management, Venrock, and Baillie Gifford. In addition, Baillie Gifford, Wuxi and Mayo Clinic Ventures, already investors in Unity, have also joined the deal.
How can you explain such a seemingly sudden interest in Unity? A recent round of research on cellular aging has piqued the interest of scientists and investors. Research has led to the conclusion that many diseases commonly associated with old age are the result of aging of individual cells in the body.
What if it were possible to remove cells that cause aging diseases? Is it possible to stop the aging process at all?
“Cellular aging is just one of the mechanisms associated with age. This is not the only cause of aging. It would take us decades to understand all the mechanisms that determine human age-related changes,”Nathaniel David, co-founder and president of Unity, told Forbes magazine. “However, we know that if we interfere with cell aging in mice, the process of age-related changes slows down and manifests itself in a different way.
The picture shows two mice of the same age, but the individual on the right has “aging cells” removed
David is referring to a study by the Mayo Clinic and Buck Institute, the results of which were published in the journal Science. The report describes a new approach that allows the selective removal of senescent cells from atherosclerotic plaques that accumulate inside the walls of arteries (these accumulations usually lead to the development of cardiovascular diseases). Scientists have been able to interfere with the process of cellular aging in mice through the use of genetic engineering and pharmacological methods.
Promotional video:
Perhaps such a large-scale funding of research in the field of biotechnology related to aging is explained by the fact that they can become for humanity the key to aging without disease, and ultimately, even stop it.
Igor Abramov