Longevity company with a drug welcomes those wanting to participate in longevity the opportunity to get skin in the game.

We recently broke the news that Delaware-based Biophysical Therapeutics recently emerged from stealth. Now the company, which was founded by Dr Michael Forrest and counts Professor George Church (Harvard Medical School) and Professor Bruno Conti (Scripps Research Institute) as advisors, is accepting investments by crowdfunding.

Longevity.Technology: Slowing metabolic rate slows aging and extends the lifespan of mice (and other species tested), so a drug that slows metabolic rate could tap into those antiaging benefits – and Biophysical Therapeutics has such a drug.

When applied topically to the body, Biophysical Therapeutics’ drug reduces metabolic heat generation at that location, reducing metabolic rate and (to extrapolate) slowing aging there. The area would not actually feel cold, either, as heat transfer from the rest of the body would keep this location warm. This metabolic rate-reducing ability of the drug means it could be an ideal ingredient in cosmetics, lending itself to antiaging face creams, &c – and Biophysical Therapeutics’ initial focus is cosmetic applications. Its next milestone is testing (over six months) if this drug can slow human tissue aging, and a positive result might make the company extremely valuable.

Crowdfunding is a concept we are seeing more of in longevity – from the Longevity Campaign to Gerostate Alpha, crowdfunding is not only a way to test the investment waters, but to encourage people to quite literally invest in their own future. As well as raising the profile of the longevity space, given the recent biotech investment worries caused by Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, broadening investment to the wider community makes good financial sense.

Forrest told Longevity.Technology: “It all adds up – by accepting small amounts of money from a large number of people, we are hoping it will all add up to a significant sum of money, with each person getting part of the company, in proportion to their investment size. Rather than accepting a large amount of money from just a few investors, we are taking a more democratic approach and hoping lots of people join us on our longevity journey.”

He adds: “Legally, for a long time in the United States, start-up investing was restricted to high net-worth individuals, widening the wealth gap, but recently this injustice has been recognized and resolved. Since 2021, new US Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] regulations allow start-ups to accept up to $5 million annually through crowdfunding.” 

Forrest explains that Biophysical Therapeutics is well-suited to crowdfunding because it has broad appeal as everyone ages – and no one wants to.

“Conceivably, the financial opportunity is so great that a life-changing return can come from a small investment,” he says. “A drug for aging revolutionizes cosmetics and medicine. Probably many diseases – such as Alzheimer’s disease – only occur in older people because they are, at least partly, caused by aging. So a drug that slows aging could be therapeutic for the many varied diseases of aging. Averting the coming demographic crisis in which much of the population suffers, and is debilitated by, at least one of them.”

Biophysical Therapeutics is crowdfunding on the Wefunder platform (funded by Y Combinator). Its target raise, and minimum investment size ($100), are both relatively small, making this an interesting opportunity for those looking to dip a toe in the longevity investment waters.