5/12/22: Issue #3

Issue #3

May 12, 2022

May 12, 2022 | Issue #3

Good afternoon. Today marks just the third issue of our newsletter series. Thanks again for subscribing, and continue reading below to get a feel for what to expect going forward.Also, give us a shout by simply hitting reply in your inbox – we'd love to learn more about how you found us.

Characteristics Of A "Longevity Diet"

While we have a knack for writing more on the business/funding side of today's longevity industry, we can't help it – at least every now and then – to also dive into the latest health and wellness (or dietary) findings this space has to offer.For starters, the health and wellness market comes with a double-edged sword, so to speak.On one hand – similar to wearables, biomarker trackers, and other forms of AgeTech – the rising public interest in daily health or dietary monitoring provides a great onramp for those interested in human longevity. Nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, etc., are all things that people can take control of today, at their own pace.And as studies have increasingly shown, small changes to our diet or caloric intake, for example, can play a BIG role in the slowing of age-related disease.The downside, of course, is that as brands pounce on the newest health or dietary discovery, the science behind it all tends to get drowned out by the marketing. This can easily lead to misinformation and loads of confusion for those genuinely trying to switch to a healthier diet.That said, we'll always give kudos to those who provide research-backed dietary insights in an approachable manner. This is a far cry from Google's bullet-point SERP philosophy or a health "guru" listing out their eating routine on a podcast with little to no evidence or sources to back it up. We're talking about dietary recommendations that aren't too extreme nor expensive, backed by real peer-reviewed aging research. The paper published in Cell late last month is a prime example of exactly that.The Study:Gerontologist Valter Longo from the University of Southern California teamed up with Rozalyn Anderson from the University of Wisconsin in an effort to find out the "optimal" longevity diet – one that gives us the best chance to increase our lifespan. You can read it for yourself here.Without boring you with the details, the researchers basically reviewed hundreds of studies on nutrition, disease, and longevity in laboratory animals and humans... and then combined them with their own studies on nutrients and aging. Furthermore, the team linked these studies to specific dietary factors shared by animals and humans that also affect markers for disease risk. This includes levels of insulin, C-reactive protein, insulin-like growth factor 1, and cholesterol.Here are the highlights...What You Should Eat:According to the paper, the optimal longevity diet includes plant-based carbs such as whole grains, vegetables, and legumes (the fancy word for beans). Additionally, around 30% of your daily calorie intake should be from healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts, dark chocolate, and fish.What You Shouldn't Eat:The optimal longevity diet, as outlined in the paper, does not include red or processed meat, refined grains (commonly found in many white breads, cereals, white rice, crackers, and pastries), and added sugars. Researchers also suggest keeping your consumption of white meats such as poultry at low levels.A Note On Fasting:Anderson and Longo didn't only analyze "what" to eat, but also "when" to eat. To optimize your longevity diet, researchers suggest that your daily meals should all be consumed within a 11 to 12 hour window. This allows for a daily period of fasting. To avoid the difficulty of continuous dieting, the researchers said that fasting 5 days per month or through a variety of different cycles might also be helpful in reducing insulin resistance, inflammation, blood pressure, and other risk factors.Putting It All Together:According to Longo and Anderson, key characteristics of the optimal longevity diet appear to be:

  • Moderate to high carbohydrate intake from non-refined sources

  • Enough plant-based fats to provide about 30% of energy needs

  • Low but sufficient protein from largely plant-based sources

  • Fasting for about 12-13 hours every single day

Now, Don't Take This Word For WordGenerally speaking, establishing one "optimal" longevity diet suitable for every individual on this planet is near impossible. In other words, there's no one-size-fits-all solution here. Even the paper states that each diet should be adapted to each individual based on health status, gender, genetics, and age. For instance, anyone over the age of 65 should probably increase their protein intake to battle the loss of lean body mass and so forth.In our opinion, this is another reason why biomarker tracking devices hold such importance. Different diets will always have different effects on different individuals. Those with the ability to track how various diets or eating habits impact their blood pressure (or the hundreds of other biomarkers) may soon be able to find their very own optimal longevity diet.Lastly, there's a good chance there's some refutable research here at play. As in, the diet wars will only continue. On the bright side, these generalized characteristics of a longevity diet can serve as a foundational step in the right direction for many.

The Different Ways Scientists Are Approaching Organ Transplants

On average, 17 people die every day due to the lack of available organs for transplant. And right now, more than 100,000 people in the U.S. are currently on a waiting list for a life-saving organ transplant treatment.

All things considered, it's no wonder the science community is focusing on furthering organ transplant research.

Earlier this year, it was widely reported that surgeons had successfully performed the first transplant of a pig heart into a human – a groundbreaking operation known as

.

Although the patient, David Bennett, immediately recovered with his new heart performing relatively well, he was pronounced dead less than three months later.

But because the pig's heart was not rejected immediately, showing some level of recovery, the operation is still being looked at as a major step forward. At the same time, the experiment proved just how difficult xenotransplantation can be.

Below, we'll take a look at what xenotransplantation is, how different companies are approaching it, and other ways scientists are attempting to tackle the issue of replacing vital organs.

Xenotransplantation:

Due to their abundance and similarity to humans, pigs are the primary species being studied for xenotransplantation. Although pig organs are similar to human organs, they aren't identical; therefore, pig to human organ transplants have two major risks:

  1. Virus transmission

  2. Rejection due to a mismatch between the host and the donor

To mitigate these risks, researchers and companies have been studying gene editing and various cloning techniques. In the case of Bennett, Revivicor, a regenerative medicine subsidiary of United Therapeutics, modified 10 genes in the pig heart given to Mr. Bennett.

Unfortunately though, the heart given to Mr. Bennett contained a virus – one leading to his ultimate death. Although Reivicor has yet to put out a statement, Mike Curtis, CEO of eGenesis, in speaking to

stated that,

“It was surprising. That pig is supposed to be clean of all pig pathogens, and this is a significant one... without the virus, would Mr. Bennett have lived? We don’t know, but the infection didn’t help. It likely contributed to the failure.”

Although media reports may continue to lambast the procedure, longevity companies and researchers will take what they learned from the procedure and try again. We expect the xenotransplantation industry to grow significantly in the coming years.

A few companies focused on it include:

  • eGenesis, which has raised more than $250 million to date

  • Miromatrix (MIRO), which went public in June 2021. The stock is currently down more than 70% since IPO

  • Recombinetics, through an acquisition of Makana Therapeutics

  • Qihan Biotech, a Chinese company that has raised more than $100 million

Artificial Organs:

Although the concept of artificial organs, and specifically artificial hearts, has been around for nearly one hundred years, only in the past ten have we really begun to see major progress.

The previous leader in the artificial heart space was SynCardia, the manufacturer of the only FDA-approved artificial heart. Although the company looked to be a success, having implanted more than 2,000 artificial hearts, the company ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2016 after problems with the FDA. Since then, the company has changed hands multiple times, with a new company,

, acquiring the assets.

Nowadays, most interest is in the publicly-traded French company, CARMAT. And despite their rocky start, having to temporarily suspend implants due to

in 2021, the company managed to

€40.5 million in funding to resume production only four months later. The company's stock price is currently down more than 50% over the past year.

The latest company to pop up in the artificial heart scene is

, having raised $22M in May 2021.

Other Experiments For Replacing Organs:

Xenotransplantation and artificial organs, although promising, aren't the only technologies being focused on.

In the past few years, we have seen a rise in 3D printed organs thanks to companies such as

, which was acquired by 3D Systems for $400 million in late 2021.

We've also seen the rise in technology focusing on the storage and transportation of traditional donor hearts. This includes companies such as

(TMDX), which has done a good job bucking the public biotech downtrend being up 25% year to date, and X-Therma, which

FDA breakthrough device status just two weeks ago.

  • Juvenescence and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging launch Selah Therapeutics, targeting heart disease

  • Tapping into the natural disease resistance of hibernating animals is the focus of a new partnership between Monash University and Fauna Bio

  • Curative Biotechnology Announces Toxicology Studies for Metformin Eye Drop Formulations for Treatment of Macular Degeneration

  • Biogen CEO Announces Resignation Over Alzheimer’s Drug Flop

  • NEOGEN and FOXO Technologies Combine on Epigenetic Research Project

  • Humacyte’s Engineered Blood Vessels in Final Push Toward BLA

  • Neuromagen Pharma Ltd. Receives FDA Orphan Drug Designation for its AGS-499 Drug Candidate to Slow the Progression of ALS

  • Dante Labs receives grant by Italian government to pilot revolutionary CE-IVD, clinical whole genome sequencing-based Citizen Test for a G7 country, starting a new era in clinical genomics

  • Fecal microbiota transfer between young and aged mice reverses hallmarks of the aging gut, eye, and brain (BMC; Microbiome)

  • Transfusion of brain fluid from young mice is a memory-elevating elixir for old animals (STAT)

  • Damaged Liver Tissue Restored Faster Than Ever With Cellular Regeneration Therapy (Sci Tech Daily)

  • New Eye Drops Improve Aging Vision Without Glasses. Here's How They Work (Science Alert)

  • New Tool to Create Hearing Cells Lost in Aging (Northwestern Medicine)

  • Heart attack mortality rate higher in the US compared to other high-income countries (BMJ)

  • In vivo cyclic induction of the FOXM1 transcription factor delays natural and progeroid aging phenotypes and extends healthspan (Nature; Aging)

  • Key Protein Identified for Brain Stem Cell Longevity (Rutgers Today)

  • Hallmarks of cancer and hallmarks of aging (Aging-US)

  • Integrative analysis of clinical and epigenetic biomarkers of mortality (Wiley Online Library)

  • The Most Promising Longevity Drugs To Date (Apollo Health Ventures)

  • Your ‘true’ biological age – and how to reverse it (The Telegraph)

  • The world's oldest person is 118 years old. What's her secret to longevity? (Economic Times)

  • David Sinclair: Reversing the Aging Process (The Knowledge Project)

  • A new podcast challenging the current narratives in longevity (Let's Talk Longevity)

  • Morgan Levine: ‘Only 10-30% of our lifespan is estimated to be due to genetics’ (The Guardian)

  • Live Forever or Die Trying: The Latest Research on Anti-Aging (BioSpace)

  • Nearly 7 in 10 Americans want to live to 100, study finds. Here’s how retirement is changing (CNBC)