IP-NFT Touchdown on US soil, The DeSci Podcast, Pfizer, Nature Biotech and More!
Four years ago we embarked on our journey to enable decentralized modular drug development for the benefit of patients and researchers. Today, the first longevity-focused research DAO (VitaDAO) is benefiting from Molecule's IP-NFT framework, we are incubating and supporting several Biotech DAOs (such as ValleyDAO and PsyDAO) via grants, and we have raised $12.7m in seed funding. Together, these efforts are forming the basis of the emerging DeSci ecosystem.
Nature Biotechnology has written an extremely insightful article addressing our origin story and more about DeSci - read it here.
Join us in this Newsletter (and those to come) as we share with you the timeline, celebrations, and aspirations of our journey towards decentralizing science.
Some of you have been on this journey with us for a while, subscribing to this newsletter in 2019, but we have some really exciting things that are coming up that we’d love to share with you and have you be a part of. We now have a way for all of you to contribute to Molecule with the launch of our Contributors Program.
Molecule’s Most Recent Role in Decentralized Science (DeSci)
Today, the DeSci ecosystem is undergoing a Cambrian explosion of Biotech DAOs and Molecule’s BioDAO framework is setting the trend with VitaDAO as a first case study. DeSci is also catching the eye of industry giants, with VitaDAO announcing a partnership and funding from Pfizer. Interestingly, Pfizer has made a governance proposal (VDP54.1) - in true DAO fashion - directly to the VitaDAO community citing their strengths and seeking alignment to invest. Now, our framework is paving the way toward the evolution of even more BioDAOs like HairDAO, PsyDAO, ValleyDAO, and AthenaDAO, all of whom, with Molecule’s help, will be foundational players in the decentralization of science.
To date, Molecule has funded 4 IP-NFT’s, with the 5th on the horizon. To recap, the first-ever IP-NFT funded research on the Longevity Molecule at the University of Copenhagen, the second one funded Autophagy Activators at the University of Newcastle, the third, Mitophagy Activators at the University of Oslo, and the fourth funded promising age-related oral health research at the University of Washington in Seattle.
If you want to read more about funding through the IP-NFT, we’ve provided a summary addressing exactly this in our blogpost here.
On the horizon: A BioDAO Launchpad
For us, an exciting new chapter begins in September! We are supporting various BioDAOs and will increasingly focus on this by providing mentorship, funds and core IP-NFT infrastructure to these organizations - all under the framework of bio.xyz.
Bio.xyz is a launchpad for biotech DAOs. This Molecule initiative will accelerate the development of the DeSci ecosystem by enabling BioDAO builders with access to capital, talent, resources, legal agreements, and much more. With bio.xyz, we’re building an open playbook to grow the funnel of BioDAOs as we envision a robust DeSci economy.
On September 18th at DeSci Boston, we’ll share news about our first cohort. To learn more about bio.xyz, watch this short video.
Giving Power To The Community
In our most recent community call, we not only talked to some of the BioDAOs we’re helping to grow, but also introduced our new community focussed initiative - our Contributor’s Program. Molecule’s Contributor’s Program launched today and we have identified our main working groups that are ripe for contributing efforts by the broader community - Marketing & Community, Legal, R&D and Ecosystems. If you’re interested in becoming a contributor, fill out this form, join our Discord, and visit our onboarding page.
Another effort focussed on our community is the launch of our podcast, The DeSci Podcast. On the first episode, we celebrated VitaDAOs 1 year anniversary and we were lucky enough to have Balaji on only our second episode. To recap these episodes, visit the DeSci podcast here!
If you have any guest recommendations, please email podcast@molecule.to. (There is also a bounty for that on our DeWork!)
Upcoming Events in the DeSci Space
Events we are attending in the near future - join us!
ARDD - Copenhagen (29 Aug - 2 Sept)
Dappcon - Berlin (12 - 14 Sept)
Borderless - Berlin (15 Sept)
Eth Berlin (16 - 18 Sept)
DeSci Boston (18 Sept)
Devcon - Bogotá (11 - 14 Oct)
Thank You For Reading
If you enjoyed this read, subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated about our workings and collaborations within the DeSci space. Please reach out to us with any questions or ideas, visit our website, connect with us at info@molecule.to or join our Discord to interact directly with our team. We’re really looking forward to join forces with our community to create a world where patients directly fund researchers developing the next therapeutic breakthrough they need and building an open, inclusive, and collaborative ecosystem.
Shortcuts To Staying in Touch
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Listen to The DeSci podcast
Read our blog
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