Starting in 2030, we will witness a historic milestone as the elderly population surpasses the youth for the first time ever. This demographic transition brings forth substantial social, economic, and health obstacles, yet it also offers an unparalleled chance to boost advancements in research, innovation, and entrepreneurship focused on promoting healthy aging.
Older age is the leading risk factor for AD, cognitive decline, and a range of cardiometabolic diseases. While different mechanisms can drive these aging-related diseases, a key upstream mechanism identified in all these diseases is low-grade chronic inflammation with age, termed “inflammaging”, that drives downstream pathology seen with age and perhaps the biggest obstacle in healthy aging. For example, brain aging involves a decline in cognitive function that can develop into mild cognitive impairment (MCI, which further increases AD risk), and both brain aging and MCI are associated with adverse processes that are also central to AD, like the deposition of amyloid beta (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau. Taken together, these observations suggest that upstream, age-related processes underlie the development of AD.
The central tenet of Sachi Bio's lead program called NI112 is that inflammation is perhaps the most upstream/central hallmark of aging, and that targeting it specifically may be a promising therapeutic strategy. The key aspect is not non-specific immunosuppression, but a highly targeted suppression of “rouge” chronic inflammation, while still preserving the key functions of the immune system, like fighting infections or cancer. Rogue inflammation is characterized by innate immune activation, for example in glial cells in the brain, and the production of proinflammatory, neurotoxic cytokines.
The goal of this effort is to identify interventions for reducing inflammaging, and to understand their effects in the context of both aging and pathology, specifically healthy brain aging.