Cellular reprogramming to reverse aging and promote organ and tissue regeneration

Patent Number: US 12,274,733 B2
Title: Cellular reprogramming to reverse aging and promote organ and tissue regeneration
Filed: September 27, 2019
Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
Assignee: President and Fellows of Harvard College
Inventors: David A. Sinclair, Yuancheng Lu (among others)

What It Covers

This patent discloses engineered biological materials and methods for inducing cellular reprogramming, tissue repair, tissue regeneration, organ regeneration, and reversing aging processes, leveraging engineered nucleic acids. The core innovations include:

Expression vectors (e.g., viral vectors like AAV, adenovirus, lentivirus) encoding one or more of the Yamanaka transcription factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4). These vectors are designed to deliver and induce expression of the factors in target cells.
Methods also cover recombinant viruses and cells engineered with these constructs for therapeutic use (e.g., in vitro, ex vivo, in vivo).

Cellular reprogramming: Approaches that transiently express these factors to shift aged or diseased cells toward a more youthful functional state without complete dedifferentiation into pluripotent stem cells.
Organ and tissue regeneration: Application of engineered vectors and proteins to promote healing, regeneration, and survival at the tissue and organ level.
Reversal of aging: Techniques to reverse age‑associated epigenetic and functional decline in cells, tissues, organs, or whole organisms by resetting gene expression patterns and epigenetic marks.
Treatment and prevention of age‑related diseases through targeted cellular rejuvenation strategies.

Essentially, this patent lays out a platform technology for epigenetic reprogramming and rejuvenation rather than a single therapeutic — covering tools and methods that could be adapted across multiple indications where age or injury impairs tissue function.

Why It’s Important

Foundational Technology for Longevity Biotech: The methods and constructs in this patent are broadly applicable to emerging therapies aimed at regenerating tissues, reversing age‑related decline, and preventing chronic disease — central goals for companies like Life Biosciences and others developing partial reprogramming therapies.
Enables Broad Therapeutic Scope: By covering everything from engineered vectors to methods of inducing cellular rejuvenation, this patent can support multiple therapeutic programs (e.g., ocular, liver, neurological) under a shared biological principle.
Intellectual Leadership: Since David Sinclair is a co‑founder and scientific leader at Life Biosciences and this work is tied to his inventions, it likely forms part of Life Biosciences’ exclusive or licensed IP backbone for its epigenetic reprogramming platform.
Commercial Impact: Broad patent claims around engineered vectors and induction of aging reversal mechanisms may provide leverage in licensing, partnerships, and competitive positioning as Life Biosciences pushes toward clinical trials and eventual commercialization.

Summary

US 12,274,733 B2 — Cellular reprogramming to reverse aging and promote organ and tissue regeneration — is one of the most pivotal patents in the aging‑reversal and epigenetic reprogramming space granted . It defines foundational methods and engineered vectors to induce rejuvenation across tissues and organs by harnessing key reprogramming factors (Oct4, Sox2, Klf4). Although not formally filed by Life Biosciences itself, this patent is closely tied to inventor David Sinclair — a co‑founder of Life Biosciences — and aligns directly with the company’s scientific strategy and translational pipeline.

BioTech IP Review