T.A. Sciences receives US patent for TA-65 to tackle aging process

Jan 14 2011

Telomerase Activation Sciences, Inc. (T.A. Sciences) today announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,846,904 to the Geron Corporation. The patent covers the use of certain compounds to upregulate telomerase expression in cells.

T.A. Sciences has exclusive worldwide rights to technology under this patent for nutraceutical and cosmetic applications.

"This foundational patent is a validation of the millions of dollars and more than 8 years of effort we have invested to bring TA-65, the world's first telomerase activator, to market," stated Noel Thomas Patton, Chairman of T.A. Sciences. "This significantly adds to the proprietary rights that Geron has built around its already strong portfolio of U.S. and foreign patents that will allow vigorous defense against infringers. T.A. Sciences has provided TA-65 to hundreds of clients for nearly four years with significant demonstrated anti-aging and immune boosting benefits."

"Cells are the building blocks for all tissues in the human body and cell division plays a critical role in the normal growth, maintenance and repair of human tissue. We and our collaborators have shown that telomeres, located at the ends of chromosomes, are key genetic elements involved in the regulation of the cellular aging process. Thus, this shortening of the telomeres effectively serves as a molecular 'clock' for cellular aging. We and others have shown that when the enzyme telomerase is introduced into normal cells, it can restore telomere length - reset the 'clock' - thereby increasing the functional lifespan of the cells. Importantly, it does this without altering the cells' biology or causing them to become cancerous...Controlled activation of telomerase in normal cells can restore telomere length or slow the rate of loss, improve functional capacity and increase the proliferative lifespan of cells," Source:Geron 2009 Annual Report.

The awarding of the patent follows the first published peer reviewed scientific paper on TA-65: "A Natural Product Telomerase Activator..." which appeared in the journal Rejuvenation Research in Sept 2010. This study focused on two key results that were observed in T.A. Sciences' clients who had taken TA-65 for a 12 month period. TA-65 led to a reduction in the percentage of short telomeres in immune cells and also showed a significant restoration of the immune system back to a more youthful profile.  A number of other significant improvements were observed in various biomarkers which show decline with age and these will be reported in a subsequent paper. Importantly, there were no reported side effects.

Two earlier papers help to confirm these benefits.  The first paper (Fauce et al., 2008) describes the chemical structure of a small molecule telomerase activator discovered at the Geron Corporation in collaboration with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. They were able to demonstrate that activating telomerase with a telomerase activator slowed the rate of telomere loss, increased replicative capacity (without immortalization or signs of tumor transformation), restored cytokine and chemokine response of cytotoxic CD8 cells exposed to specific antigens. The other, a 2005 Double Blind, Placebo Controlled  Human Trial also demonstrated improvements in immune function, vision, sexual function, and skin elasticity.

Telomere Biology has become the most relevant topic in anti-aging research. In a study released on November 28th 2010, in the online journal Nature, a team of researchers at Harvard Medical School reported on the first reversal of the aging process in a mammal. By reactivating telomerase, they rejuvenated worn out organs in mice that were the equivalent biological age to 80 year old humans. This along with the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine being awarded for the discovery of telomerase and the publication of over 8,000 other scientific articles about telomere biology confirm the emergence of a major scientific platform.  

All of this emphasizes the importance of short telomeres in the aging process and has ushered in a new approach to how we tackle aging in humans. That approach is to stop telomere shortening by activating telomerase. And now TA-65 is the first and only product available which has been shown to effectively activate this enzyme.