Altos Labs was founded with an enormous amount of capital in order to work on reprogramming as an approach to rejuvenation. They recently acquired a senotherapeutics company, Dorian Therapeutics. Given that we're in the second year of a bad market for biotech fundraising, one might speculate that this was an acquihire. A company in an investor's portfolio runs out of runway, the investor wants to avoid an outright loss, and that overlaps with another portfolio company's desire to rapidly obtain an experienced team. There may or may not be strong-arming on the part of the investor to make it happen. That said, this may also indicate investor pressure for Altos Labs to do something other than run the long-term development programs needed to bring reprogramming therapies to the clinic. Quicker wins and a quicker exit for those investors is ever a plausible goal. In terms of outcomes that could be good or it could be bad. It depends on the choices made, but it is certainly the case that investor pressure for faster returns is the root of a great many evils in the broader biotech and pharmaceuticals industry.
Longevity behemoth Altos Labs has acquired senotherapeutics startup Dorian Therapeutics in a landmark deal in the emerging cellular rejuvenation space. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Stanford University spinout Dorian is focused on targeting cellular senescence, the process by which aging or damaged cells cease dividing and accumulate in tissues, contributing to age-related diseases and diminished regenerative capacity. The company has been developing small-molecule "senoblockers" designed to neutralize the harmful effects of senescent cells while reactivating the body's natural repair mechanisms.
While the companies are taking different scientific approaches, there are clearly synergies. Altos Labs launched in 2022 with a whopping $3 billion in funding to advance cellular rejuvenation programming aimed at restoring the function of cells, tissues and organs. Dorian's senoblockers target epigenetic regulators to reduce senescent cell burden and enhance stem cell function, effectively reawakening youthful gene expression and tissue regeneration pathways. Dorian's technology modulates chromatin accessibility to orchestrate cellular programs disrupted in aging and disease, with broad potential applications in age-related conditions. Its lead candidates have shown promising preclinical efficacy in models of lung fibrosis and osteoarthritis.
Link: https://longevity.technology/news/altos-labs-snaps-up-dorian-therapeutics/
View the full article at FightAging
