Blockchain and crypto are rewriting the rules about longevity funding

An organization founded in 2021 is changing the way people fund longevity research

VitaDAO, created to accelerate longevity research and development, has funded more than 14 projects and provided over $3 million in grants. But what makes it especially interesting is the fact that it is using the tools of cryptocurrency to speed the funding process and democratize research.

The organization believes the biopharmaceutical industry underappreciates patients and researchers. Research fundraising is time consuming and tends to rely on the deep pockets of governments, charities, and corporate funders. Once research is completed, companies are incentivized to maximize profits rather than democratize access to their new therapies.

“R&D has become prohibitively expensive and siloed, largely due to the way IP business models incentivize the monopolization of innovation,” wrote Tyler Golato and Paul Kohlhaas, VitaDAO initiators in their organizational white paper. “This is done through the creation of patent thickets … [that] prevent open sharing of research data, inherently disincentivizing collaboration and transparency.”  

VitaDAO seeks to fix this – and streamline the funding process – by empowering more researchers in hopes of producing more benefits for patients and sharing in the ownership of IP they produce. Members contribute funds by buying $VITA tokens. Token ownership gives them a vote on the kinds of research to support. The votes are recorded using blockchain technology, which both decentralizes decision-making and increases trust and confidence. When the IP produced by the sponsored organization is added to the portfolio, it will also be on the blockchain.

The approach seems to be attracting support. VitaDAO reports a Discord community of more than 8,000. It also seems to be working for funding applicants.

Matt Abbott, business development manager with Newcastle University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences, recently wrote about VitaDAO’s funding of a project to identify novel bioactive autophagy inducers. Autophagy is a process by which damaged cell components are removed by the body.  Finding ways to activate autophagy may lead to therapies that combat aging and age-related diseases.

The project value is $285,000. Abbott reports the VitaDAO funding process was “incredibly smooth.”

“From proposal submission to contract execution, it took around four weeks,” he wrote. 

Traditionally, the funding process can take months as layers of screeners, reviewers, and decision makers.

VitaDAO is transforming how longevity research and drug discovery are funded. In fact, its largest investment, $1 million, was in Turn Biotechnologies, a company we provided with startup funding. Turn Bio is focused on cell rejuvenation.

We applaud the innovation that VitaDAO is bringing to longevity research. Since Methuselah Foundation was established in 2001, we have been committed to the idea that greater successes can be achieved by encouraging more people to get involved with the mission. The fast-growing enthusiasm for longevity science proves we were right.