DALLAS: A San Antonio company is trying to break into the pharmaceutical market with a new version of an old drug that it believes offers hope to two-legged and four-legged patients diagnosed with incurable or life-altering diseases.
Rapamycin, a drug derived from microbes discovered in the early 1970s in the soils of Easter Island in the South Pacific, drew an explosion of renewed attention in 2009 when it was proven to be the first pharmaceutical capable of prolonging the life spans of older mice, according to research done in San Antonio.
Made in laboratory settings today, rapamycin has long been used by transplant patients to help fight organ rejection. It’s also used in heart stents to prevent clots from forming in vessels and to treat certain cancers.
Now Rapamycin Holdings Inc. hopes to bring a unique version of the drug to those battling age-related illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia patients, people genetically at risk of developing certain cancers, and dogs and cats facing debilitating diseases…