LONDON: Genflow Biosciences (LSE: GENF) has commenced a scientific research collaboration with the University of Rochester’s Aging Research Center (RoAR), a statement said.
This collaboration will initially research the potential of Sirtuin-6 (“SIRT6”) in reversing the aging process in liver tissue. This is the first step towards a true rejuvenation gene therapy across a range of tissues.
RoAR is one of the world’s pre-eminent age research facilities. The collaborative research will be spearheaded by a member of the Company’s scientific advisory board, Dr Vera Gorbunova, who is also a co-director of RoAR and an internationally acclaimed leading scientist in the areas of DNA repair and the aging process. Dr Gorbunova has received awards from The Ellison Medical Foundation, The Glenn Foundation, American Federation for Aging Research and the National Institute of Health.
The SIRT6 gene variant found in centenarians (people aged more than 100 years old) has previously demonstrated significant capabilities in epigenetic tissue rejuvenation. The ability of SIRT6 to act on the rejuvenation of cells is a significant finding, indicative of the SIRT6 gene mutation’s potential to not just halt the aging process, but to reverse it.
While the research collaboration will initially explore the ability of gene therapy for the rejuvenation of the liver, it could have significant implications beyond liver tissue and may indicate SIRT6’s potential across a range of tissue rejuvenation and, for longevity research, more widely. The data obtained from the collaboration will support the pre-clinical trials Genflow is undertaking and will expedite its development of gene therapies.
Genflow is a UK-based biotechnology company focused on longevity and the development of therapies to counteract the effects of aging and diseases associated with advanced age. It is the first longevity biotechnology company to list in Europe and seeks to be a reference company in the European longevity sector.
In the near term, this distinguished collaboration will provide the Company with a deeper presence in, and exposure to, the US. The US longevity sector has gained enormous attention and traction in recent years. High profile Ultra Net Worths have a keen interest in this area and prominent deals in the sector attracted investment capital of over $3bn last year.
Dr Eric Leire, Founder and CEO of Genflow, said: “We are privileged to be collaborating with the Rochester Aging Research Center (RoAR) to accelerate and enable bringing a novel gene therapy for not only improving healthy aging to the clinic and patients, but also offering the opportunity of epigenetic tissue rejuvenation. The preliminary data from the Gorbunova and Seluanov Laboratory at the University of Rochester is a promising indication of the centenarian SIRT6 gene mutation’s significant capabilities in the longevity field.
“We now have the opportunity to demonstrate that SIRT6 can go beyond halting or stopping the aging process but can also reverse it. In effect, we seek to demonstrate that you can take an old liver and make it young again – this is the essence of the epigenetic tissue rejuvenation we are exploring, and it has the potential to be the basis of a revolutionary gene therapy.”
Genflow is a UK-based biotechnology company established in 2020. The Company is developing gene therapies designed to target the aging process and to reduce and delay the incidence of age-related diseases. This will be done through novel therapeutics targeting aging in humans by using adeno-associated virus (“AAV”) vectors to deliver copies of the Sirtuin-6 (“SIRT6”) gene variant that is found in centenarians into cells.
