The latest longevity updates from our investment news desk.
ChromaDex reports ‘best quarter ever’
Healthy aging supplements company ChromaDex (NASDAQ: CDXC) announced its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022 financial results, reporting record revenue in Q4 2022 with $21.0 million in total net sales, up 18% from the prior year quarter. The company also reported full year total net sales of $72.0 million, with $60.1 million coming from sales of its Tru Niagen supplement for boosting NAD+ levels.
“ChromaDex proudly reported its best quarter ever, achieving $21.0 million in revenue in the fourth quarter, up 18% year-over-year and 23% sequentially,” said Rob Fried, CEO of ChromaDex. “We also achieved $0.4 million in adjusted EBITDA, an important operational milestone as we reposition ChromaDex for growth with profitability in mind during these turbulent economic times. We end the year with $20.4 million in cash, no debt, some excellent new partners with Nestlé and Sinopharm and are poised for a great 2023.”
Nightingale analyzes 200,000 Estonian blood samples
Preventive health company Nightingale Health has analyzed the blood samples of 200,000 Estonian Biobank participants. The participants of the Estonian Biobank represent approximately 20% of the Estonian adult population, which makes it a very significant health database also on an international scale.
The results analyzed from each blood sample include 250 biomarkers, of which 39 are clinically validated and can be used in the same way as traditional clinical biomarkers. The collaboration between Nightingale Health and Estonian Biobank enables the biomarker data from 200,000 samples to be used to advance scientific medical research. In addition, the data will be used to bring novel health insights, such as health risk estimates, to the biobank participants to enable disease prevention.
Capsida appoints CSO
Gene therapy company Capsida Biotherapeutics announced the appointment of Dr Susan Catalano, as the company’s Chief Scientific Officer. She will work together with the company’s co-founders to advance the company’s pipeline into the clinic, bringing more than two decades of experience leading discovery, translational science and clinical functions to bring multiple therapies in neurological and oncology indications to the clinic.
“Capsida is at a pivotal phase in its evolution,” said Peter Anastasiou, Capsida’s Chief Executive Officer. “Susan’s industry expertise and experience advancing new medicines into the clinic will help us actualize the potential of our next-generation gene therapy platform.
AKL ready for further Phase 2 trials
Following promising clinical study data, UK-based biopharma AKL Therapeutics is gearing up to take its lead compound, APPA, into a Phase 2 clinical trial for osteoarthritis. APPA, an Nrf2 and NFkB modulator, is a patented, combination oral therapy of two synthetically produced isomers, both of which are secondary metabolites of plant origin.
“We’re raising funding for the Phase 2b study and making sure we get the trial design right – that’s going to be very important,” said AKL’s CSO Alan Reynolds. “We have a fast-track approval from the MHRA in the UK, which should help expedite approval for the study and things like that.”
MitoRx makes key appointments
Mitochondrial dysfunction biotech MitoRx Therapeutics announced a raft of appointments that are set to accelerate the company’s novel pipeline through the closing of its Advanced Subscription and beyond. The company appointed Christine Charman as Chief Development Officer and David Richardson as Finance Director, and added four new members to its Scientific Advisory Board: Professor Chas Bountra, Professor Dame Kay Davies, Professor Laurent Servais, and Dr Bernd C Schwahn.
“I am delighted that we’ve been able to add such a depth of expertise, knowledge and capability to our team, joining us in our fight against diseases of ageing, and degenerative diseases which have been likened to accelerated aging,” said Jonathan Rees, CEO of MitoRx.
Meet the Founder: Yuri Deigin
In this profile piece, Yuri Deigin, the founder of cellular reprogramming startup YouthBio Therapeutics, describes his company’s mission to develop tissue-specific partial reprogramming gene therapies that can rejuvenate tissues, improve organ function, and prevent age-related diseases.
“We have made significant progress in several key areas,” he said. “First, we have identified a number of novel rejuvenating factors that have the potential to decouple rejuvenation from dedifferentiation, which we are currently testing in vitro.”
Altman revealed as Retro backer
And finally, possibly the biggest longevity investment news this week was actually old news! The sector is buzzing with the sensational revelation that OpenAI CEO and Silicon Valley darling Sam Altman is the mystery investor behind longevity biotech Retro Bio, pouring $180 million of his own cash into the company. It’s hard not to be optimistic about the potential of the field with so many shrewd investors making big bets in longevity. Watch this space!
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