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| UK firm buys Sardinian DNA samples for research into ageing | UK firm buys Sardinian DNA samples for research into ageing |
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| A British biotech company has purchased a set of DNA samples taken from 13,000 genealogically linked residents of a region of Sardinia that has an unusually high number of centenarians. | A British biotech company has purchased a set of DNA samples taken from 13,000 genealogically linked residents of a region of Sardinia that has an unusually high number of centenarians. |
| London-based Tiziana Life Sciences said the Ogliastra region had a prevalence of centenarians that was almost 50 times that of the UK or US. Napoleone Ferrara, Tiziana’s chairman, said the €258,000 (£216,000) deal gave the company a chance to study DNA samples that could advance its understanding of ageing and disease. | |
| A 2004 study found that life expectancy in the central-eastern region of Sardinia was significantly higher even than in other parts of the Italian island. | A 2004 study found that life expectancy in the central-eastern region of Sardinia was significantly higher even than in other parts of the Italian island. |
| The study said the causes of the longevity were not known, but researchers said most of the areas around the world with the longest-lived populations – so-called blue zones – were in mountainous regions, which could point to a “high rate of inbreeding” and low immigration rate as a possible explanation for the development of a genetic pool in which the population seemed to be protected from certain diseases. | The study said the causes of the longevity were not known, but researchers said most of the areas around the world with the longest-lived populations – so-called blue zones – were in mountainous regions, which could point to a “high rate of inbreeding” and low immigration rate as a possible explanation for the development of a genetic pool in which the population seemed to be protected from certain diseases. |
| The Tiziana deal comes months after US and Italian researchers announced they were launching a study of centenarians in Acciaroli, near Salerno, in southern Italy, including full gene sequencing of 300 residents as well as studies of their dietary histories and cognitive tests. | The Tiziana deal comes months after US and Italian researchers announced they were launching a study of centenarians in Acciaroli, near Salerno, in southern Italy, including full gene sequencing of 300 residents as well as studies of their dietary histories and cognitive tests. |
| Alan Maisel, a researcher from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, said Acciaroli residents lived long lives despite some unhealthy habits and tendencies, including smoking and obesity. He said the elderly residents ate a lot of rosemary and oily fish, walked on hilly terrain and had active sex lives. | |
| Related: Air pollution causes wrinkles and premature ageing, new research shows | Related: Air pollution causes wrinkles and premature ageing, new research shows |
| The Ogliastra samples, collected by a company called Shardna SpA, based in Cagliari, are not the first to have been bought by a biotech company looking to boost its repository. | The Ogliastra samples, collected by a company called Shardna SpA, based in Cagliari, are not the first to have been bought by a biotech company looking to boost its repository. |
| Amgen, the US biotech group, bought deCode Genetics in 2012 for $415m (then worth £260m) to get access to the Icelandic company’s huge database of genomic data. In May, Amgen announced that its deCode unit had discovered a rare genetic variation associated with a person having lower-than-average risk of heart disease. | Amgen, the US biotech group, bought deCode Genetics in 2012 for $415m (then worth £260m) to get access to the Icelandic company’s huge database of genomic data. In May, Amgen announced that its deCode unit had discovered a rare genetic variation associated with a person having lower-than-average risk of heart disease. |
| Individuals who have the variant of the gene were found to have much lower levels of so-called bad cholesterol, a finding that could lead to the development of new drugs to fight cardiovascular disease. | Individuals who have the variant of the gene were found to have much lower levels of so-called bad cholesterol, a finding that could lead to the development of new drugs to fight cardiovascular disease. |
| Scientists at Tiziana will now try to discover what sets the genes from Ogliastra apart from others. “We believe our management team, who have collectively been instrumental in the discovery and development of blockbuster drugs such as Avastin and broadly adopted diagnostics such as the PSA test for prostate cancer, have the capability, expertise and insights to discover new drugs and diagnostics to address important unmet medical needs using this biobank resource,” the company said. | Scientists at Tiziana will now try to discover what sets the genes from Ogliastra apart from others. “We believe our management team, who have collectively been instrumental in the discovery and development of blockbuster drugs such as Avastin and broadly adopted diagnostics such as the PSA test for prostate cancer, have the capability, expertise and insights to discover new drugs and diagnostics to address important unmet medical needs using this biobank resource,” the company said. |