Emerging Start-Up Repair Bio is Tackling Longevity
The desire to prolong life existed for centuries from finding the holy grail to controversial start-ups such as Ambrosia focusing on teen blood transfusions. No one has been quite able to crack the code to immortality, however, a rising biotech start-up is taking a huge step forward in this space by targeting what kills one out of every four Americans: heart disease. We are excited to announce our investment in Repair Biotechnologies, which aims to use novel technologies to address age-related diseases, and is starting out by tackling atherosclerosis. This condition is the leading cause of heart attacks, strokes, and vascular heart disease, and, as a result, the #1 cause of death and disability in the developed world.
As “bad” cholesterol builds up in the artery over time, immune cells called macrophages come and try to fix the problem. However, the presence of cholesterol causes macrophages to malfunction, leading to more inflammation and the buildup of plaque: a conglomerate of cholesterol, fatty substances, cellular waste, and clotting material in the blood. This build-up narrows the blood vessel, limiting blood flow and the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to certain parts of the body and leading to conditions such as coronary heart disease, agina, chronic kidney disease, and more. The plaque can also lead to blood clots that may become dislodged, blocking off important arteries to the heart or brain and causing a heart attack or stroke.
By the time you are 40, research has shown that there is a 50% chance you already have atherosclerotic lesions that are large enough to be detected by scanning technologies, however, even if you are able to identify these, current treatments can’t reverse existing damage. When you are diagnosed with atherosclerosis, you’ll likely get prescribed medication that lowers bad cholesterol levels to prevent further plaque build-up, but does nothing to get rid of existing plaques, which may still pose a significant health risk.
In research published in Nature, a leading scientific journal, Repair identified a method that actually destroys plaque build-up as opposed to simply preventing further damage. Repair’s technology introduces an enzyme that enables macrophages to break down cholesterol, reversing the plaque build-up process. Tests on animal models have found the treatment to be effective in reducing cholesterol by 40% to 50% without significant negative side effects. If successful, repair will be the first drug to meaningfully revert atherosclerosis on the market, presenting a significant opportunity as well. With Americans spending over $220 Billion each year combating heart disease, there is no doubt that this is an important disease to address.
However, Repair doesn’t plan to stop at atherosclerosis. When you take a look at many age-related diseases, the source of the disease stems from the accumulation of damage to cells or cellular processes. Aging is a result of normal processes naturally causing wear and tear in our body. Repair seeks to target the damage and leverage technological advances to reverse this damage, as opposed to the current approach to slowing down future damage. Once this damage is reverted, diseases caused by this damage such as heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases, and more can be avoided.
Age-related diseases are a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars that Repair has the opportunity to become a dominant player in. By applying this repair philosophy to other age-related diseases, Repair Biosciences can cure diseases that were previously only able to be managed and slowed down, allowing them to impact millions of patients and at-risk individuals.
