Our Mission

Longevity Biotech is developing a new class of therapeutic candidates called Hybridtides®. Our focus is on delivering clinically transformative products that tackle the most challenging aspects of medicine today. The unique Hybridtide® scaffold provides critical enhancements over previous peptide development efforts. Contact us to learn more.

Hybridtides®

Hybridtides® are synthetic peptides based on the seminal work by Prof. Samuel Gellman at the University of Wisconsin. Hybridtides® provide a unique peptidomimetic scaffold that is both digestively and structurally stable. This stability arises from the proper incorporation of α and β amino acids, a process in which we are experts. A variety of peptide engineering opportunities are derivative from this fundamental scaffold.

Delivery Expertise

Building on the Hybridtide® scaffold, Longevity Biotech has created a streamlined, high throughput, data-driven process to deliver peptides orally. Once the requisite digestive stability via the Hybridtide® Optimization Toolkit (HOT®) Hybridtides ® are evaluated and optimized for absorption via the Oral Peptide Platform (OPP). Finally, the resulting lead candidate is evaluated in vivo for absolute bioavailability.

Products

To date, Longevity Biotech has applied the Hybridtide® scaffold primarily to the class B-GPCR family of drug targets - with great success. Currently, our Hybridtide® based neuroscience and diabetes programs target receptors in this family. These assets are in preclinical development along with several other projects as well. If there is any interest in learning more about these programs please contact us to learn more

Leadership Team & Advisors

Longevity Biotech has assembled a team of worldwide experts in leading peptide drug development programs. Our growing management team along with our advisors have deep and broad expertise in bringing new biological products into and through clinical trials.


Management
Scott Shandler, Ph.D.

Scott Shandler, Ph.D., MBA

Title: Founder & CEO
Background:  Dr. Shandler brings nearly a decade of various commercial and scientific operating experiences to Longevity. Prior to founding Longevity, Dr. Shandler was a venture capitalist at BioAdvance, an early stage fund based in Philadelphia, where he was responsible for therapeutics, diagnostic and biomarker opportunities. Prior to BioAdvance, Dr. Shandler was a portfolio analyst for Merck Research Labs (MRK) where he developed a forecasting model and framework to guide preclinical project prioritization efforts across several therapeutic areas. Prior to Merck, Dr. Shandler was a product manager for PolyMedix (PYMX.OB), an early stage biotech company developing antimicrobial and cardiovascular therapeutics. While at PolyMedix, Dr. Shandler assisted with their successful Series A fundraising activities. Dr. Shandler also served as a consultant and subject matter expert in Accenture’s (ACN) Pharmaceutical and Medical Products group, advising leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on technology and strategy matters. Earlier in his career, he worked for Inventa, a Silicon Valley startup helping craft business solutions for Fortune 500 and startup companies alike. Dr. Shandler received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA from The Wharton School in the Healthcare department, a Certificate of Bioinformatics from Stanford University along with a B.A. in Computer Science from Brandeis University. Dr. Shandler has published in various leading peer reviewed journals, is an inventor on multiple patents and has served as Principal Investigator on various federal and private grants.


Mark

Samuel Gellman, Ph.D.

Title: Founder & Head of Peptide Chemistry. Currently: Ralph F. Hirschmann Professor, Chemistry Department - University of Wisconsin, Madison Education: A.B., Harvard Ph.D. Columbia University Postdoctoral Fellow, Cal Tech

Advisors

William DeGrado, Ph.D.

Dr. DeGrado is a prominent researcher working in the area of chemical biology, biochemistry, and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco medical school. Prior to his current position, he spent 10 years at the University of Pennsylvania and 15 years at DuPont and DuPont-Merck Pharmaceuticals, reaching the level of Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry before moving to academics in 1996. Dr. DeGrado has earned numerous awards, including membership in the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and he has been an adjunct faculty member at Harvard University and Johns Hopkins Medical Schools. He is a recent President of the Protein Society, has served on the Editorial Boards of 19 scientific journals, and has authored over 200 publications and multiple issued U.S. patents. Dr. DeGrado is the founder of PolyMedix (PYMX.OB) as well as InfluMedix, and has been on the scientific advisory boards for Xencor, Sunesis, and ExSAR. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Chicago, and B.S. from Kalamazoo College

Howard Gendelman

Howard Gendelman, M.D

Dr. Howard E. Gendelman is the Margaret R. Larson Professor of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, and Director of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Gendelman is credited in unraveling how functional alterations in brain immunity induce metabolic changes and ultimately lead to neural cell damage for a broad range of infectious, metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders. These discoveries have had broad implications in developmental therapeutics aimed at preventing, slowing or reversing neural maladies. He is also credited for the demonstration that AIDS dementia is a reversible metabolic encephalopathy; a finding realized at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. His work has led to novel immunotherapy and nanomedicine strategies for Parkinson’s and viral diseases being tested in early clinical trials as a result of intense translational investigations.

Soumitra S. Ghosh, Ph.D.

Dr. Soumitra Ghosh is a biotechnology industry consultant and entrepreneur with extensive experience in drug discovery and drug development. His biopharmaceutical experience includes R&D leadership positions at Amylin Pharmaceuticals and MitoKor. At these companies, he led multi-disciplinary research teams for the development of small molecule, peptide and protein based drug candidates for the treatment of metabolic diseases and CNS disorders. His other current roles are acting CSO, Avexegen Therapeutics, Inc., Co-Founder and Scientific Advisor, BioShore Partners, Inc., and President of the Peptide Therapeutics Foundation. He received his MS and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago, and conducted his post-doctoral research at Rockefeller University in New York.

Chris A. Rhodes, Ph.D.

Dr. Rhodes founded Drug Delivery Experts in 2014 after 4 years of consulting and 20 years in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and drug delivery companies, where he held both technical and executive leadership roles. He has extensive experience translating molecular therapeutics, formulation, delivery, and device programs from late stage research into clinical development. He volunteers as a leadership mentor to start up companies, students, and academic programs, through the San Diego Entrepreneurs Exchange, Connect, the UCSD von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurship, the UCSD Bioengineering Industrial Advisory Board, and lectures in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy, in addition to serving on the Board of Trustees of the Boulder Peptide Society. Chris lives in San Diego with his UCLA graduate school classmate, Dr. Sharon Lee Rhodes, and together they enjoy traveling to visit their four children.


James Waschek, Ph.D.

Research in my laboratory centers on a class of molecules called neuropeptides - short peptides that classically act in the central and peripheral nervous systems to control a wide variety of behaviors and neurological processes. Much of our efforts have focused on two structurally-related peptides that are widely expressed in neurons, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), and pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide (PACAP). These neuropeptides are rather unusual because they function not only as neurotransmitters, regulating processes such as circadian rhythms, cognition, and stress responses, but as pleiotropic growth factors and immunomodulators. We employ gene knockout and viral delivery strategies as primary tools to study the biological functions of these peptides. In our early work, we established roles of VIP and PACAP in several aspects of brain development and neural repair, and more recently, we delineated their actions as modulators of inflammation in models of multiple sclerosis ad primary neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease. Finally, based on recent genetic links of mutations in VIP and PACAP signaling genes to schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we have begun to study the involvement of these peptides in the neurocircuities underlying adaptive responses to fear and stress. More detailed information is available on the laboratory website.

Interested in
joining the team?

Longevity Biotech is always on the lookout for the best and brightest team players who are motivated to impact product development. Please click on the button for information regarding our latest openings.