Summary

One-Liner: VitaDAO to Establish VitaTech, a US-Based For-Profit Company to License Longevity Technologies from US Universities and Research Institutions and, Raise Non-Dilutive Funding to Develop Them into Commercializable Assets

There are numerous exciting longevity-related research projects being undertaken in US universities and national labs, but most of these projects never reach the commercialization or investable stage. Advancing a good candidate to the FDA-ready IND stage requires $3-5M in funding, which is beyond the current scope of VitaDAO’s funding. There is an opportunity to leverage non-dilutive funding from foundations and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs to advance these technologies to commercialization stages. To achieve this, we propose to form a US-based for-profit company called VitaTech, which will licence longevity technologies developed in US universities, apply for non-dilutive funding from SBIR/STTR and foundations, and develop the technologies into commercializable assets. VitaTech will operate as a subsidiary/affiliate of VitaDAO.

Relevance to Strategic Plan

Creation of VitaTech will accelerate the acquisition and development of research assets. The establishment of VitaTech will accelerate VitaDAO’s mission by facilitating the development of selected technologies and leveraging public funding. VitaTech will play a crucial role in bringing these technologies to market, benefiting not only the NIH but also the wider public.

Budget

The proposed budget is for $50K from VitaDAO to get VitaTech up and running and to apply for its first two grants. This amount and any ongoing charges would be paid back to VitaDAO from any awarded grant. VitaTech will commit to return a portion of any receipts (e.g., drug sales, license purchases, and/or any other ROI) to VitaDAO treasury.

VitaDAO’s available funds

For context, (as of Feb 1st, 2023) VitaDAO funded 15+ projects with $3.5m+, and has ~$4.5m in liquid funds remaining (before further fundraising), which will be used for:

• Funding new projects
• Operations, including sourcing, incubation, evaluation, & community growth
• Follow-on funding, including for projects VitaDAO will spin out

Motivation

The primary objective of VitaTech will be to accelerate the commercialization of longevity technologies through a search and build approach. On behalf and in close collaboration with the VitaDAO community, VitaTech will search technology transfer databases of US universities (e.g., UCLA), federal research institutions (e.g., NIH), and identify promising longevity technologies. VitaTech will gain access to these technologies through licensing agreements and/or Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) if agreed on a project per project basis by VitaDAO. VitaTech will apply for non-dilutive funding from SBIR/STTR and foundations to advance these technologies to commercialization stages (e.g., performing additional experiments to satisfy IND submission requirements).

Specification

Project Team VitaTech’s management team will be composed of experienced professionals from the VitaDAO community with expertise in technology licensing, product development, and business development. The team will be responsible for identifying licensing opportunities, negotiating licensing agreements, managing the development of the licensed technologies, and overseeing the commercialization of the resulting products on behalf of and in close collaboration with VitaDAO following governance and operational processes established by VitaDAO. The management team will also be responsible for managing the company’s finances and applying for non-dilutive funding. The current team consists of Tuan Dinh, Eli Mohamad and Tim Peterson

Implementation

Success Metrics: Number of projects that are funded by nondilutive fundings. Number of startup spinouts. Total funding raised.

Timeline: 2 projects in 2023 and 5 in 2024