Eric Leire: Why Did I Move To Longevity Research?

Dr. Eric Leire, MD, MBA, is the CEO and Founder of GenFlow Biosciences. He has an impressive background in the biotechnology and gene therapy sector. Furthermore, Eric has a plethora of remarkable experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having held Pfizer, Schering Plough, and Pharmacia posts. His success has also translated into academic research, where he has held a research position at Harvard University.

In addition, his career has soared throughout the biotechnology industry, being the CEO of several private and public biotech companies. He is also the inventor of several patents and serves on the board of several biotechnology companies, such as Pherecydes (ALPHE.PA), Immunethep, Inhatarget, and BSIM. 

Biotech has become somewhat of a buzzword across financial circles, leading technical experts such as Eric to be in great demand. With the sector forecast to grow close to $2.5 trillion by 2028, the financial benefits are straightforward and the moral importance to serve societal needs.

Research into longevity and healthy aging have progressed rapidly in recent years. Still, intense interest from the public, corporations, and the media has created an environment in which unfounded claims may be hard to separate from scientific facts.

We chatted with Eric, who explains why he has shifted his focus to GenFlow Biosciences and the longevity research field.

He says that many US biotech companies shifted their research focus to improving longevity. However, only a few European biotech companies are working on a science-based development of therapeutic interventions that could delay the aging process. Gene flow Biosciences, based in Europe, is one of them.  

“Our company is interested in identifying the genetic and molecular pathways underpinning the aging process, to use this knowledge to develop novel therapeutic strategies to treat age-related disorders.” Specifically, Genflow Biosciences’ work is based on now the fact that DNA repair plays a crucial role in determining an organism’s lifespan. As humans and other mammals grow older, our DNA is more and more prone to breaks. 

Such DNA breaks can lead to genetic rearrangements and mutations, known as hallmarks of cancer and aging. For that reason, longevity scientists have long hypothesized that DNA repair plays a critical role in determining an organism’s lifespan. Moreover, our behaviors, such as smoking, can increase the number of double-strand breaks in our DNA; the breaks themselves are unavoidable. 

Gene flow Biosciences proposes to deliver extra copies of the SIRT6 gene to increase our capabilities to repair DNA breaks to prevent age-related diseases in humans. High-quality research has demonstrated that SIRT6 is a gene involved in maintaining DNA repair and is proven to be linked with maximum lifespan. Therefore, rather than spending countless years tackling each ailment associated with aging, such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, Genflow Biosciences instead focus on the root cause of aging itself. Eric believes that this work is critical if we meet the growing healthcare needs of aging human populations.

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