I came across an interesting article today on The New York Times website that spoke about Sirtris Pharmaceuticals and the hopeful "Side Effects" of their drug candidates SRT501 and NCEs (New Chemical Entities). The article (which I have posted a link to below) got me thinking...
...more people in the general public should know about Sirtris Pharmaceuticals and the work they are doing.
If successful (and yes, it's a big if) these two drugs could change the course of our future health, how diseases are treated or cured, and enable us to live healthier lives for much longer then we do now. How can you not pay attention to that! I'll take a small chance over a 0% chance any day.
You've probably heard me talk about Sirtris Pharma in previous posts and I thought a brief summary of who they are and what they do would be appropriate first.
Sirtris was founded in 2004 by Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D. who received his M.D from Harvard Medical School and David Sinclair, Ph. D. a professor of Pathology at the Harvard Medical School. There are many other doctors who are associated or employed by Sirtris and the list can be found here.
In their own words Sirtris can be explained as the following type of company:
"Sirtris, a GlaxoSmithKline company, is developing small molecule drugs that target the sirtuins, a recently discovered family of seven enzymes associated with the aging process. Modulation of these enzymes offers the promise of drug discovery in multiple therapeutic areas.
Founded in 2004, Sirtris was one of the first pharmaceutical companies focused on the sirtuin platform. Preclinical research indicates that the sirtuins play important roles in pathways for multiple diseases, including Type 2 Diabetes, various types of cancer and osteoporosis; as well as neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, inflammatory, and mitochondrial diseases."
A few noteworthy observations: In June of 2008 Sirtris Pharma was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline for $720 million, the company founders both have close ties to the Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Westphal is well known for his founding of two other successful drug companies Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Momenta Pharmaceuticals. I think these few "notables" lend some credibility to resveratrol and the work Sirtris is doing.
Now back to the article and the drug candidates. Both drugs are known as Sirtuin Activators which are most commonly known to activate the SIRT1 enzyme (refer to my previous post for more info on SIRT1). SRT501 is a special formulation of resveratrol that delivers a bloodstream dose 5 times greater then the chemical alone. From the research I've done it is rumored that SRT501 is resveratrol in a micronized form with a special delivery method.
As for the NCEs (New Chemical Entities) they are known to be synthetic chemicals with up to 1000 times the potency of resveratrol. Sirtris has the following to say about their NCEs:
"In preclinical studies, the NCEs lower glucose and improve insulin sensitivity in animal models of Type 2 Diabetes. This occurs in key metabolic tissues, including liver, muscle, and fat.
As observed in calorie restriction and with resveratrol, the NCEs increase mitochondrial biogenesis and hold promise for treating diseases of aging such as Type 2 Diabetes."
These drugs are currently being targeted for use in fighting diabetes, certain cancers, and MELAS syndrome. However, Dr. Christoph Westphal had the following to say, "I think that if we are right, this could extend life span by 5 or 10 percent." The article also states that Dr. Westphal added his goal was to develop drugs against specific diseases, with the extension of life being “almost a side effect of our medicine.”
Now this is a "side-effect" I am sure we can all live with, no pun intended!
For more information please read the article titled:
"Hoping Two Drugs Carry a Side Effect: Longer Life",
by Nicholas Wade, The New York Times, July 22nd, 2008.
It's a great read!
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