By Brad Sorensen, CFA

NASDAQ:TELO

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Telomir Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TELO) is a preclinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a product designed to lengthen the DNA’s protective telomere caps. Previously reported preclinical tests have shown evidence that Telomir-1, the company’s primary therapy, can lengthen telomeres and initial animal testing illustrates the potential impact. In fact, the company recently released results from one of those tests, which, according to CEO Erez Aminov, “confirms Telomir-1 can reverse biologic aging, extending life while preserving health.”

The company continues to learn about the potential uses for Telomir-1 and just announced that it reduced the tumor size by approximately 50% in a prostate cancer animal model. This is a significant development and discovery as concerns in the scientific community have been that telomere-elongating drugs may actually promote cancer. Telomir-1 demonstrated the opposite effect when used in conjunction with a widely used chemotherapy drug known as Paclitaxel by actively suppressing tumor development. Additionally, Telomir-1, when administered with the chemotherapy drug, protected against toxicity and mortality that is often associated with the treatment. The company noted that in the group treated with Paclitaxel alone, severe toxicity was observed, leading to significant weight loss and mortality of one-third of the animals. However, when low-dose Telomir-1 was added to Paclitaxel, no mortality occurred.

The science behind this discovery is similar to what we’ve described before. Chemotherapy treatments induce toxicity through oxidative stress. This stress damages healthy cells and contributes to severe side effects. Metal ions, such as iron and copper, play a significant role in amplifying the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated effects of Paclitaxel and we’ve written before about the ability of Telomir-1 to reduce oxidative stress through its metal ion-regulatory activities.

This announcement adds to the list of conditions that Telomir-1 has the potential to treat by attacking the underlying causes of the conditions and not just the symptoms. The company is continuing to zero in on all of the mechanisms that cause Telomir-1 to have these positive impacts and recently explained that Telomir-1 is designed to normalize iron homeostasis, reducing oxidative stress and improving insulin sensitivity, setting it apart from existing drugs that primarily treat symptoms without addressing these underlying causes. Excess iron levels contribute to oxidative stress, beta-cell damage, and insulin resistance across key tissues and reducing these levels could have a major impact on a wide variety of conditions.