Life Biosciences Announces Publication in Cell Demonstrating Therapeutic Benefit of Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy Activators in Alzheimer’s Disease Models

BOSTON, April 22, 2021 — Life Biosciences, a pioneering life sciences company targeting the biology of aging, today announced the publication of preclinical research demonstrating clinical benefit of its chaperone-mediated autophagy activator platform in mice models of Alzheimer’s disease. The article, titled “Chaperone-mediated autophagy prevents collapse of the neuronal metastable proteome“ by Bourdenx et al., was published online in the peer-reviewed journal Cell on April 22, 2021.

Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) controls the levels of soluble proteins in cells. It has been proposed that the age-related decline of CMA leads to an increased concentration of insoluble proteins that may play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. This study demonstrated that the upregulation of CMA with one of Life Biosciences’ tool oral compounds significantly improved neurologic function and decreased the accumulation of insoluble protein aggregates in two different mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, even after the onset of neurologic dysfunction.

“The publication of this preclinical study validates our CMA platform and demonstrates that an age-related decline in CMA activity may contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Joan Mannick, MD, Head of Research and Development at Life Biosciences. “As we look ahead, we anticipate advancing our platform of CMA activating candidates towards the clinic for the potential treatment of aging-related diseases including neurodegenerative diseases.”

Ana Maria Cuervo, MD, PhD, a Life Biosciences founder scientist and Professor and Co-Director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, commented, “The results of this study identify a direct contribution of CMA to the maintenance of the neuronal proteome in vivo in physiological and pathological conditions. Additionally, this paper provides evidence of the potential value of CMA activation as a therapeutic strategy for age-related neurodegenerative disorders. We look forward to progressing the clinical development of our compounds that activate CMA and believe that this new approach has the potential to prevent the buildup of insoluble proteins that underlie neurologic dysfunction.”

Life Biosciences has in-licensed the intellectual property related to targeting of CMA from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

About Life Biosciences
Life Biosciences is a private biotechnology company dedicated to developing novel therapies to extend healthy human lifespan. The Company is focusing on three platforms targeting key mechanisms underlying aging biology: mitochondrial uncoupling, chaperone-mediated autophagy, and epigenetic reprogramming. Therapies developed within each platform have the potential to prevent, treat, and/or reverse multiple aging-related diseases. For more information, please visit www.lifebiosciences.com.

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