Jacob Kimmel, co-founder and president of New Limit, shares insights into revolutionary biotech aimed at reprogramming cellular aging. He discusses their groundbreaking work with transcription factors, which can potentially restore youthful cell functions. Exciting advancements in epigenetic reprogramming are revealed, including successes in rejuvenating old liver cells. Kimmel emphasizes the collaboration between academia and industry driving progress in longevity science, and the challenges faced in gene manipulation as they seek to enhance human health and lifespan.
New Limit's innovative approach focuses on utilizing transcription factors to restore cellular youth without converting cells into pluripotent stem cells.
The recent $130 million investment demonstrates strong investor confidence in reprogramming technologies to significantly advance longevity and medicine.
Addressing the complexities of drug development, New Limit aims to ensure reprogrammed cells retain their original identities to prevent potential malignancies.
Deep dives
Reprogramming Cells for Youthfulness
The podcast discusses the concept of reprogramming old skin, liver, and immune cells to restore them to a more youthful state. The main focus is on decoupling cell age from cell type, allowing scientists to restore cellular functions without transforming them into pluripotent stem cells, which could be detrimental. By using methods akin to those discovered by Yamanaka, this approach seeks to rewrite chemical modifications, thus enabling cells to express genes appropriately as they did in their youth. The aim is to treat age-related diseases and improve overall cellular functionality as individuals age.
Breakthrough Secured Funding and Corporate Growth
New Limit, the biotech company featured, recently raised $130 million from prominent investors, positioning itself to continue developing innovative solutions in the field of longevity and epigenetic reprogramming. The funding highlights the confidence investors have in the potential of reprogramming technologies to lead to significant advancements in medicine. The conversation touches upon the impact of such financial support, enabling faster research and development timelines. This financial backing allows New Limit to advance its mission further while exploring the realms of cell rejuvenation.
The Science Behind Aging and Epigenetics
The podcast elaborates on the underlying reasons for cellular aging, emphasizing that all cells share the same DNA yet behave differently due to epigenetic modifications. As one ages, these chemical marks degrade, leading to decreased functionality of cells like neurons and liver cells. The technology aims to recalibrate these marks to reenable optimal gene expression and restore youthful cell behavior. This understanding supports the overarching goal of reducing the impact of age-related diseases by enhancing cellular regeneration and health.
Transcription Factors and Their Role
The conversation dives into the role of transcription factors, which act as regulators for gene expression, impacting how cells function. Yamanaka's discovery of a combination of four key transcription factors that can effectively reboot cells has become the cornerstone of this research. New Limit is seeking alternative combinations of transcription factors that could match or exceed the reprogramming capabilities of Yamanaka's factors while minimizing potential side effects like tumorigenesis. By finding new sets of transcription factors, the company aims to advance the therapeutic applications of epigenetic reprogramming.
Navigating the Challenges of Drug Development
The podcast acknowledges the complexity of drug development, particularly in creating treatments that target aging-related decline without unwanted side effects. A central concern is ensuring that reprogrammed cells maintain their original cellular identities to avoid malignancies. Developers face the challenge of determining safe dosing levels and appropriate delivery methods for these reprogramming therapies. The goal is to create a sustainable therapy that could effectively rejuvenate cellular functions while minimizing risks associated with altered cell identities.
The Future and Ambitions of New Limit
New Limit's future plans revolve around advancing cell reprogramming therapies beyond liver cells and T cells into other vital cell types, such as endothelial cells. The aspirations include enhancing research capabilities through a robust data generation and analysis process, aiming for higher success rates in identifying promising transcription factor combinations. As the technology progresses, the goal remains to develop medicines that would ultimately enter human trials, marking significant strides in longevity science. This venture emphasizes the company’s commitment to creating impactful interventions for age-related health issues.
The bio-tech player New Limit has raised $130 million from just about the fanciest assembly of smart, rich people imaginable. Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross – via NFDG - Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures and Human Capital are there in their corporate forms and Patrick and John Collison, Josh Kushner, Joe Lonsdale and Fred Ehrsam are there as individuals.
Over the past four years, New Limit has been trying to identify the right combinations of transcription factors – a certain class of proteins – that can rewind cells and take them back to a younger state. Their work piggybacks on the Nobel Prize winning work of Shinya Yamanaka, and it’s among the most exciting technology in the entire bio-tech field – at least for me. As you’ll hear in this interview, they’ve made massive progress over the past 18 months or so.
We’ve talked about transcription factors and related technology with Joe Betts LaCroix from Retro (podcast under the Joe link, and full video episode on Retro here) and with Brian Armstrong, who co-founded New Limit.
In this episode, however, we hung out with Jacob Kimmel, another New Limit co-founder, for a real deep dive on transcription factors and New Limit’s approach to taming them. Kimmel is as clear and eloquent as it gets on explaining this technology.
This pod might feel different than the usual pods. It comes from a sit down interview we did with Kimmel for an upcoming Core Memory video on New Limit. Still, it’s glorious.
The Core Memory podcast is sponsored by the wonderful people at E1 Ventures. Their money and hearts are pure.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.corememory.com/subscribe
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
