Reset Therapeutics, a company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel drugs that restore the body’s natural 24-hour physiological rhythms, has entered into a research agreement with 23andMe. The goal of the collaboration is to study circadian clock genes and ultimately improve therapeutic development for diseases related to molecular clocks.
Research into the composition, function, and effects of molecular clocks has demonstrated that disruption of normal circadian rhythms is associated with diseases of the central nervous system, immune system dysfunction, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, and cancer. Data suggest that resetting the circadian system resynchronizes biological processes with environmental demands, potentially resulting in therapies that target causes of disease, rather than just treating symptoms.
Through this collaboration, the Reset team will be able to conduct research from more than 650,000 23andMe customers who have consented for their de-identified aggregated data to be a part of research. Specifically, Reset finds the clock genes most consistently associated with chronotype, sleep, insulin resistance, stress response, and related pathophysiology to identify novel circadian drug targets and to stratify patients and identify secondary indications for its existing therapeutic development programs.
“Reset is dedicated to creating precision approaches to treating orphan and larger metabolic diseases by restoring normal clock function to patients whose rhythms have become dysregulated,” says Ross Bersot, CFA, president and CEO of Reset Therapeutics, in a release. “Working with 23andMe, we will amplify our R&D capabilities by incorporating a large scale human genetics element in our research platform in a way that wasn’t possible. With this collaboration we will be able to more efficiently and effectively drive our clinical programs. This demonstrates the power of bringing together disease insights generated by researchers in academia, state-of-the art drug discovery and chemistry expertise built by Reset, and patient-empowered genomic models of research championed by 23andMe.”
23andMe director of business development Emily Drabant-Conley, PhD, says, “Deeper insight into the genetics of circadian rhythms may lead to better treatments for a variety of diseases and disorders. It is an area that has been of interest to our research team for some time, and this collaboration with Reset provides the drug discovery and development resources needed to actually translate our insights into better therapies for patients.”
Terms of the agreement are not disclosed.
