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- Issue #25
Issue #25
Issue #25
November 3, 2022 | Issue #25
Good Evening
. Welcome back to another issue of Spannr.
In this week's newsletter
:
đź’¸ Funding slows down in October
đź‘Š Hevolution comes up BIG
đź“ť Earnings season is upon us
📢 Business news + weekend reading material
Longevity Fundraising Roundup: October 2022
Last month, multiple companies emerged and/or raised capital in the longevity space.đź“Ś According to our data, $376M was raised across 9 funding rounds.But as VC firms likely brace for further economic uncertainties, the amount raised from the month prior has declined -20.12%.Nonetheless, in our latest post, we highlight each of last month's funding announcements, followed by a snippet of investing insights we recently sent to our fellow investors at Spannr Ventures.
Reminder: If you are an accredited investor and have yet to join us at Spannr Ventures, you can do so by filling out the form provided here. While life-sciences venture funding – including all of longevity biotech – trickles down, we anticipate more investment opportunities at relatively low valuations. To join us on this journey, click here.
Hevolution Foundation to Tackle Aging Research’s Funding Problem Head-on in New Grant Program
Hevolution Foundation, the behemoth non-profit with an annual $1 billion budget, this week released a new grant program to fund aging-related research that has been overlooked.The pilot program – Hevolution Foundation - Advancing Geroscience Efforts (HF-AGE) – plans to fund ten longevity projects with up to $5 million in 2022.The goal of HF-AGE is to “fund research that was deemed meritorious and praiseworthy in peer review by the National Institute on Aging (NIA)... but ultimately not funded by them.”In short, HF-AGE believes that multiple projects that are well-reviewed by the NIA are not funded due to budgetary limitations. HF-AGE aims to solve this by focusing specifically on those projects that are positively peer-reviewed and specifically aging-related.As noted by Hevolution Foundation’s Chief Scientific Officer, Filipe Sierra:
“During my previous tenure with the NIA, I was struck by the number of high-quality grant proposals received and reviewed but ultimately turned down, oftentimes simply because of budgetary limitations.”
As we have previously noted, the National Institute of Health’s (NIH), and more specifically the NIA’s, budget has continued to grow year-over-year, going from less than $2 billion in 2016 to nearly $4 billion in 2021.Yet, the amount of money allocated specifically to aging-related disease is relatively small, with only 8.4% of the NIA’s budget allocated to “aging biology.” This equates to ~0.50% of the total NIH budget of $43 billion.This is because although the NIA has a large funding allocation ($3-4 billion annually) from the NIH, most of this money is used to fund Alzheimer’s research as opposed to root-cause aging research.HF-AGE aims to help close this gap by directly funding this area of research. As noted by HF-AGE’s submission guidelines:
“Successful submissions will focus on understanding how the basic mechanisms of aging improve health, rather than on specific diseases affecting the elderly. Projects investigating age-related diseases or functional disorders will be considered only if approached from the point of view of how basic aging processes may lead to disease outcomes or how addressing the basic biology of aging might improve prognosis or treatment. Projects that deal strictly with clinical problems such as the diagnosis or treatment of disease, health outcomes, or the social context of aging are not eligible.”
This is an amazing development for the field of longevity, as now individuals that are specifically studying aging-related disease have an avenue to receive funding without having to water down or broaden their research focus.And because HF-AGE is focused solely on projects that were positively reviewed by the NIA, the non-profit will be able to move swiftly in choosing which research to fund with Dr. Sierra stating:
“We anticipate being able to [fund research] quickly, given that the eligible projects will have already been thoroughly vetted by the NIH review process.”
Despite calling the new venture a pilot program, HF-AGE appears to be moving quickly by asking for applications to be submitted by November 22nd. Hevolution, however, aims for HF-AGE to be an annual project, as any signs of success would likely result in even more funding in the coming years.
Yale Researchers Awarded $12 million NIH Grant to Study Impact of FGF21 Protein on Aging
Tiny Health Raises $4.5 million to Launch Its Gut Health Test Tailored to Expecting Parents and Infants
📝 Earnings reports are starting to trickle in – here's who we've got so far:
Turn Biotechnologies Names 25-year Biotech Industry Veteran Richard Peterson Chief Financial Officer
UNITY Biotechnology Announces Positive 24-Week Data from Phase 2 BEHOLD Study of UBX1325 in Patients with Diabetic Macular Edema
Vigil Neuroscience Receives FDA Fast Track Designation for VGL101 for the Treatment of Patients with ALSP
Blue Zones Center Announces its Flagship Well-Being and Medical Facility
I Peace partners with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine [CIRM]
Longenesis Partners with Dante Genomics to Offer Whole Genome Sequencing Solutions for Women’s Health in Europe
Salk scientists discover anti-inflammatory molecules that decline in the aging brain (Salk Institute)
What if We Didn’t Have to Test New Drugs on Animals? (NEO.LIFE)
Watch: LyGenesis Presentation on Regrowing Human Organs (Juvenescence)
AI and biobanks could open the way to longevity treatments (Labiotech.eu)
Why daylight saving time is worse for your body than standard time (Washington Post)
Senescence in skin aging – how qualia senolytic may support skin youthfulness (Neurohacker Collective)
Strong hands may help prevent dementia (Methuselah Foundation)
Performance:
Latest Price: $133.607d-Return: 2.71%Market Cap: $11.39b
Big Movers: