Genescient aims to increase how long humans can live healthily. They’re doing this by studying genes to create treatments that fight age-related diseases. They’re the first company to use a method called artificial selection on animal models to study longevity.
Genesceint has developed super long-living fruit flies (known as Drosophila melanogaster) that they’ve developed over 700 generations. These flies are perfect for studying aging and diseases related to aging because their metabolic genetic pathways are very similar to those in humans.
Genescient uses advanced analysis to connect the functions of genes in these fruit flies with similar genes in humans. This way, they can identify targets for developing new treatments. So far, they’ve found over 100 of these gene targets, all connected to major age-related diseases.
Having this huge collection of gene targets helps the company effectively choose and test potential new drugs. Up to now, their testing program has resulted in a few promising potential treatments.
The company’s screening platform also allows them to work with biotech and pharma companies to test and quickly advance potential new drugs. In a time when a failed drug test in the late stages can cost hundreds of millions, their top-notch screening tech helps other companies quickly weed out poor candidates.
Lastly, their technology provides a unique understanding of how genomics can be used to identify gene pathways linked to specific diseases.
This company thinks big and moves quickly, always aiming for a better approach to improve medicine.