Advantage Therapeutics is spinning off some of its age-related disease R&D into a new company called Klothea Bio.
Klothea will conduct R&D work related to Advantage’s portfolio based around Klotho, a protein tied to certain anti-aging properties, according to a Nov. 25 release. Klothea’s mRNA technology is designed to boost Klotho production, with initial work targeting metabolic disease syndrome and the later goal of expanding into cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity and other age-related indications.
“As we embark on this exciting journey, we expect to demonstrate that our mRNA therapy will increase significantly the levels of Klotho to those found in young and healthy individuals and will offer the potential for longer-lasting therapeutic effects which may delay or prevent certain age-related diseases,” Klothea chair Jeffrey Madden said in the release.
The newly formed subsidiary has raised an undisclosed amount of seed money in a round led by Longevitytech.fund, a VC fund managed by tech entrepreneur Petr Sramek.
Meanwhile, parent company Advantage will continue its quest to develop next-gen Alzheimer’s treatments, with its lead asset AD04 currently being tested in phase 2b clinical trials in Europe. The injection is designed to regulate the immune system and reduce Alzheimer’s pathology.