Immune system aging is one of the major drivers of human morbidity and mortality. There are limited methods available to slow or prevent normal age-related immune system decline in older individuals. Robert (Bobby) Brooke, a UCLA M.S. graduate in biomedical engineering in 2005, and his team at Intervene Immune (www.interveneimmune.com) developed a combination of approved drugs designed to restore the immune system through thymus regeneration. It was tested in an FDA approved trial in healthy men age 50-65 and shown to reverse aspects of immune system aging while also demonstrating an unprecedent first – the reversal of epigenetic aging clocks. This resulted in the publication of clinical trial results with collaborators from Stanford and UCLA in the journal Aging Cell in September 2019. So far the scientific paper with the TRIIM clinical trial results has been cited more than 150 times and was reported by the journal to be in the top 1% of articles in terms of follow-on citations and impact.
Reversal of epigenetic aging clocks was very unique because this is considered by many to be the most accurate aging biomarker available today. Note: This aging biomarker technology was also developed at UCLA, by trial collaborator Dr. Steve Horvath. No significant reversal of epigenetic aging clocks had ever occurred when testing diet, exercise, or any other putative longevity treatments. The trial results were also inspiring in that the effects were obtained using a combination of drugs that are already FDA-approved, so the treatment has potential to become available relatively soon.
Mr. Brooke managed and coordinated the TRIIM trial along with the company’s Chief Scientific Officer. He assisted with trial design, trial conduct, regulatory filings, data analysis, contracts, and in general coordinated all aspects of trial operations. He is a co-inventor of the resulting intellectual property covering novel drug combinations and treatment methods used within the study. The company is now conducting a larger Phase 2 trial named the TRIIM-X trial, which is enrolling 80-100 men and women age 40 to 80 in the U.S., and again targeting prevention of age-related immune system decline (NCT04375657). More information can be found on Clinicaltrials.gov: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04375657
Reference: Fahy GM, Brooke RT, Watson JP, et al. Reversal of epigenetic aging and immunosenescent trends in humans. Aging Cell. 2019;18(6):e13028. doi:10.1111/acel.13028