Rejuvenation biotechnology startup founder Kizoo has provided Elastrin, a company that focuses on removing calcification from tissue, with seed funding.
The company Elastrin is named for elastin, which comprises the fibers affected by this calcification. The company is using a proprietary antibody to deliver a nanoparticle-encased therapeutic agent directly to the fibers in question. The company hopes to use this approach to treat arterial tissues, as calcification of the arteries leads to hardening of the arteries and its associated downstream effects, such as aneurysms and hypertension.
Calcification is not the only source of degraded arterial function, as advanced glycation end-products such as glucosepane are also known to play a role through stiffening of the collagen. However, Elastrin’s approach, if successful, may ameliorate many age-related cardiovascular diseases and potentially reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack.
Kizoo is part of the Forever Healthy Foundation, an organization that funds research against aging and sponsors the annual Undoing Aging conference.
Here is the full press release:
Kizoo provides seed funding for Elastrin Therapeuticsto develop groundbreaking new technology capable of reversing tissue and organ calcification
Clemson SC, USA / Berlin, Germany
Elastrin is a biotechnology startup leveraging a platform technology to develop therapeutics that render calcified tissue and organs supple again.
It is the latest addition to the growing portfolio of Kizoo Technology Capital; a rejuvenation biotech investor focused on reversing age-related damage on a cellular and molecular level.
Elastrin’s lead asset is a nanoparticle conjugated with a novel monoclonal antibody to treat heart valve and vascular calcification.
“Elastin fibers are critical for the homeostasis of tissues around the body, including the skin, vasculature, and pulmonary tissues. As elastin fibers become damaged over time, arterial walls weaken, and the body’s physiological response results in aortic wall stiffening, aneurysms, and hypertension,” said Prof. Naren Vyavahare, Chief Scientific Officer at Elastrin Therapeutics.
The Elastrin team has developed a platform that can restore vascular health by removing pathological calcification, specifically from sites where elastin has been degraded. This is achieved via targeting albumin nanoparticles loaded with therapeutic agents directly to the tissue site of interest with the company’s proprietary anti-elastin monoclonal antibody. “This targeted delivery promises to improve the efficacy of therapeutic payloads as well as reduce side effects due to otherwise systemic administration. In addition, the nanoparticles result in slower release characteristics that improve the biodistribution of pharmaceuticals at the targeted exposure site,” said Douglas Mulhall, co-founder of Elastrin Therapeutics.
“Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death globally, taking an estimated 18 million lives each year. On top of that, everyone above 30 years old is suffering from damage to the cardiovascular system, resulting in severe symptoms one day. Our technology can reverse damage to the arteries and heart and bring the body back to a state before the damage even occurred. This is a true game-changer in the industry and one of the puzzle pieces towards healthy aging. Nobody wants to live forever in an old and sick body, but we do want to live long in a healthy one,” said Matthias Breugelmans, CEO of Elastrin.
“We are proud to help Elastrin to open a new category in repairing significant damage of aging – tissue calcification and the damage to elastin fibers. This will allow for substantial rejuvenation of the cardiovascular system and restore organ function & skin elasticity to youthful levels,” says Frank Schueler, Managing Director of Kizoo Technology Capital.
“I am honored to be part of this highly ambitious endeavor to rejuvenate the circulatory system with a technology platform that has far-reaching potential,” said Patrick Burgermeister, Partner at Kizoo Technology Capital who will join the company’s Board of Directors.
About Elastrin Therapeutics Inc.
Elastrin Therapeutics is a South Carolina-based biotech developing novel therapies to reverse cardiovascular disease. Its underlying technology was developed by Dr. Naren Vyavahare during the last 20 years at Clemson University, in collaboration with Dr. Charles Rice, who developed the antibody. Our team built a proprietary platform that targets and restores degraded elastin by removing the harmful calcification that stiffens arteries. The platform significantly improves the efficacy of drugs and eliminates side effects by combining particle design with elastin targeting.
Further information can be found at www.elastrin-therapeutics.com
About KIZOO
KIZOO provides mentoring, seed, and early-stage financing with a focus on rejuvenation biotech. Having been entrepreneurs, VC, and mentors in both high-growth tech and biotech companies ourselves for many years with multiple exits and massive value created for the founders, Kizoo now brings this experience to the emerging field of rejuvenation biotech. We see it as a young industry that will eventually outgrow today’s largest technology markets.
As part of the Forever Healthy Group, Kizoo directly supports the creation of startups turning research on the root causes of aging into therapies and services for human application. Investments include Cellvie, Underdog, Revel Pharmaceuticals, Elevian, LIfT BioSiences, MAIA Biotechnology, Turn.bio, and others.
Forever Healthy’s other initiatives include evaluating new rejuvenation therapies, evidenced-based curation of the world’s cutting-edge medical knowledge, funding research projects on the root causes of aging, and hosting the annual Undoing Aging Conference.
Further information can be found at www.kizoo.com and www.forever-healthy.org
