We’re Launching Catalyst to Accelerate Research Funding
At the end of January, Molecule hosted AthenaDAO, VitaDAO, ValleyDAO, CerebrumDAO, and SynapseDAO in Berlin. In an exclusive preview, we unveiled Catalyst, our new platform poised to redefine funding pathways for translational science. Catalyst streamlines funding and review for early-stage research, opening the due diligence process to the entire DeSci community. Catalyst places project ideas at the start of Molecule's funding facilitation process, accelerating their journey to become decentrally governed by the DeSci community.
During this onsite we delved deep into the topics of funding, dealflow, and the current barriers to the funding of translational science. We invited our BioDAO friends, enabling us to build on their experiences and their challenges, and present an open alternative funding mechanism within specific therapeutic areas. Inevitably, we’re building Catalyst to make getting funded easier than ever. Our goal is to place the researcher at the center of funding opportunities from sophisticated Biotech DAOs like these, as well as the larger DeSci community.
How does Catalyst work?
With Catalyst, once you upload your research project, it becomes discoverable to the entire DeSci community, allowing you to reach your funding goals faster. As a Researcher, you will be able to access not only funding, but feedback from reviewers, investors, and scientific collaborators.
Once funding is secured, you as the Researcher will draft a research plan and a sponsored research agreement (SRA) with feedback from project community funders, mint an IP-NFT, and potentially later tokenize that IP-NFT as an IPT in exchange for additional funding. This has already been done with VITA-FAST.
Researcher? Looking for Funding?
If you are a researcher looking for funding and feedback on your translational science projects or a reviewer looking to give feedback on others’ projects, now is the time to join our Early Access program as we refine Catalyst, our funding and review platform. Apply here to get early access.
More highlights from the BioDAO on-site in Berlin
On the 25th of January, we hosted a DeSci Meetup in Berlin for the broader DeSci community. This meetup was particularly special as the core team members of VitaDAO, ValleyDAO, AthenaDAO, SynapseDAO, and CerebrumDAO attended with us in person. If you would like to attend our next DeSci meetup and meet the pioneers in the space, sign up here.
Molecule x Nucleate
Recently, we partnered with Nucleate to cultivate the next generation of bioentrepreneurs and multiply the number of high-quality research projects entering the Decentralized Science ecosystem. With this partnership, ten Nucleate Venture Fellows will undergo thorough education in two key areas: the essentials of IP funding via Molecule’s token-based model and the principles of DeSci. The fellows will be integral in sourcing high quality projects and onboarding researchers to Molecule Catalyst. You can read more about it here.
Molecule on the Road
Molecule will be at ETHDenver from Feb 29 - Mar 3 2024. If you are around, be on the lookout for Stefan and Taylor from our team who will give a talk on our tech stack.
We’ll also be at DeSci.London from 23-24 March 2024, talking about Molecule’s funding infrastructure, bio.xyz and ways to get onboarded into the ecosystem.
Here’s who you should be looking out for in Denver and London:
See you there!
Molecule of the Month
This month, we’ve decided to look close to home, and feature VitaDAO’s latest IP-NFT in collaboration with Artan Bio, headed by Dr Michael Torres. The funding provided by the longevity-focused DAO will support Dr Torres’s work to combat nonsense mutations.
Nonsense mutations, which lead to the premature termination of protein synthesis, result in faulty, truncated proteins traveling through the body and causing mayhem. This can have profound health implications, resulting in a myriad of cancers and age-related diseases. Dr. Torres' innovative solution involves the use of a specially engineered suppressor transfer RNA (tRNA) that can discern between erroneous stop codons caused by mutations and the legitimate ones that signal the natural end of protein synthesis. Preliminary data produced in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University has supported Dr. Torres’ hypothesis, leading to VitaDAO’s decision to fund further investigation.
The IP-NFT is also set to be tokenized into intellectual property tokens (IPTs), enabling the distribution of intellectual property rights to their holders, to raise funds for the science and facilitating community governance over the resulting intellectual property. Many decisions need to occur as this project unfolds, such as which other possible delivery vehicles to test out, and which disease indication is best suited for clinical testing. Look out for the upcoming IPT sale, where you have a chance to become a token-holder, directly influencing the project's trajectory by casting your vote on key decisions as they unfold.
“While still in the nascent stages, I am convinced that leveraging the Molecule platform's resources and expertise will carve a successful path in drug development. As a colleague from a major pharmaceutical company aptly put it, "Drug development is a team sport." DeSci is fundamentally aligned with this philosophy, aiming to revolutionize the field from the ground up.” Dr. Michael Torres
Thanks for Reading!
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