A Biotech Industry CEO on mTOR Inhibitors and the Treatment of Aging

There is a point in the life of a young biotech company at which one traditionally appoints an established figure from industry as the CEO. Running a company that is in the public eye due to clinical trials and heading in the direction of an IPO requires a whole different set of skills than were needed for early growth and technical success in development programs. It also tends to be a sign of the changing balance of influence between founders, investors, and industry partners as development programs progress. This happened earlier in the year for Navitor Pharmaceuticals, one of a number of companies working on mTOR inhibitor therapies capable of modestly slowing the aging process. Talking up one's position is a part of the duties of an industry CEO: a good CEO is an advocate for the company, for the technology, for the industry. That is expected. I point out this commentary from the new Navitor CEO not for the expected content, but rather as an example of our present slow movement though an important tipping point in the great, many-threaded cultural conversation about aging and the prospects for treating aging as a medical condition. The message of the life science community, that aging can be slowed and reversed, is being taken up by industry and media. It is spreading broadly, and more rapidly than in past years. In short, the goal of bringing aging under medical control is increasingly being taken seriously, finally, after more than twenty years of earnest...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Healthy Life Extension Community Source Type: blogs