Methuselah Fund Closes Initial Fundraising, Reports on Some Early Investments

I'm pleased to note that the Methuselah Fund has closed its first fundraising effort after hitting the target amount, obtaining the support of many long-standing members of our community. The fund is a mixed for-profit/non-profit vehicle that is intended to expand the investment efforts undertaken by the Methuselah Foundation in past years, helping promising lines of rejuvenation research to make the leap from laboratory to commercial development. At the present point in time there are few enough rejuvenation focused companies that doing this well requires extensive connections within the research community, and a willingness to step in and help specific teams and lines of work to crystallize into startup companies sooner than might otherwise have been the case. Traditional venture capital tends to do more sitting on the sidelines, waiting for opportunities to arise. That works, more or less, in a more mature field, but not here, not yet. Given the rise of senolytics startups and the notable financial success of Unity Biotechnology, an increasing number of venture funds are starting to pay attention and take the treatment of aging seriously. Their principals should take notes regarding the the activities of the highly connected early participants - such as the Methuselah Fund, Longevity Fund, Kizoo Technology Ventures, and so forth - as following the standard biotechnology venture playbook probably won't work all that well for another few years at least. This is a fiel...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Activism, Advocacy and Education Source Type: blogs