TAS launches anti-aging telomerase activator

In March, Telomerase Activation Sciences, a biotechnology firm focused on the molecular mechanism of aging, signed a licensing agreement with fellow USA-based company Geron, under which it is developing non-therapeutic products based on the latter's range of small-molecule telomerase activators.

On April 9, TAS announced the launch of its first nutraceutical product to employ the licensed technology, the telomerase activating agent TA-65. Furthermore, the New York-headquartered firm said that, by the end of the month, it intends to publish the results of a pivotal 2005 anti-aging trial, which demonstrates the statistically significant benefits of telomerase activation.

William Andrews, a founder of Nevada, USA-based biotechnology company Sierra Sciences and one of the principal discoverers of the enzyme telomerase, said that the product is the first of its kind "that has been proven to slow or reverse cellular aging."