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Selphagy Therapeutics � Autophagy

Co-founded by Dr. Ana Maria Cuervo and Dr. Evris Gavathiotis, Selphagy intends to use its New York and Boston facilities to research ways to restore autophagy, the process by which cells recycle waste products, to older cells.

The company has already identified molecules it believes can improve the removal of damaged or misfolded proteins that accumulate with aging and lead to diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, amyloidosis, and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases. These drugs aim to target the autophagy process, helping our bodies clean out the cellular garbage and restore homeostasis and function lost due to aging.

According to an April 2021 press release, Dr. Cuervo’s team has developed a new drug, CA, which raises chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) by increasing LAMP2A receptors on lysosomes. In a study published in Cell, oral doses of CA given to two different mouse models of Alzheimer’s resulted in improved memory and walking ability with a decrease in depression and anxiety.

Selphagy is a daughter company of Life Biosciences, which owns multiple rejuvenation biotechnology companies, each focusing on a different hallmark of aging.