Bill Andrews, PhD President & CEO at Sierra Sciences Testimonial

Bill Andrews’ Testimonial: Partnering with bioaccess® for Breakthrough Telomere Therapy in Colombia

At the forefront of anti-aging innovation, Libella Gene Therapeutics is pioneering a groundbreaking approach to combat aging and declining health by leveraging the enzyme telomerase to lengthen telomeres. This ambitious mission brought Libella to Colombia, where the company has partnered with bioaccess® to establish clinical studies in collaboration with local hospitals and healthcare professionals.

Dr. William (Bill) Andrews, PhD, a renowned scientist in the field of anti-aging, shared his testimonial about his experience collaborating with bioaccess®. As the CEO of Sierra Sciences, a U.S.-based company focused on curing aging and declining health by lengthening telomeres, Dr. Andrews described how Libella licensed a gene therapy developed by Sierra Sciences to deliver telomerase to human cells. Libella initially struggled to navigate the complexities of launching clinical studies across different countries, including the United States. However, everything changed when Libella partnered with bioaccess®, formerly known as LATAM, to move their work forward in Colombia.

“My name is Bill Andrews. I run a company called Sierra Sciences in Reno, Nevada, in the United States that is totally focused on trying to find ways to cure aging and declining health by lengthening telomeres, using the enzyme telomerase,” Andrews explains. “We licensed a gene therapy that delivers telomerase to human cells in a Petri dish to a company called Libella Gene Therapeutics. And then they started working with bioaccess®, at the time they were called LATAM, to help get clinical studies underway in Colombia. Libella was struggling trying to find ways to connect with different countries, including the United States, to set up clinical studies, and that all turned around when Libella created an agreement with LATAM, now called bioaccess®.”

Dr. Andrews also highlighted the pivotal roles of Monica Mora, Julio Martinez, and Chris Venner in facilitating Libella’s success in Colombia. He praised Monica Mora’s exceptional organizational skills, Julio Martinez’s invaluable connections with Colombia’s top hospitals and leading medical professionals, and Chris Venner’s medical expertise in drafting technical protocols. Together, their efforts ensured that Libella’s clinical studies progressed smoothly and efficiently.

Reflecting on the collaboration, Dr. Andrews expressed his deep satisfaction with bioaccess®, describing the partnership as a game-changer for Libella’s mission to bring cutting-edge telomere therapy to patients in Colombia and beyond. He encourages other companies seeking to establish clinical studies in Colombia to consider bioaccess® as a trusted partner, citing their extensive network, professionalism, and commitment to excellence.

Interested in hearing more? Discover Dr. Andrews’ full story and learn how bioaccess® is driving innovation and healthcare progress in Latin America.

Transcript

William (Bill) Andrews, PhD. (00:09):

My name is Bill Andrews. I run a company called Sierra Sciences in Reno Nevada in the United States that is totally focused on trying to find ways to cure aging and declining health by lengthening telomeres, using the enzyme telomerase. We licensed a gene therapy that delivers telomerase to human cells in a Petri dish to a company called Libella Gene Therapeutics. And then they started working with Bioaccess, at the time they were called LATAM, to help get clinical studies underway in Columbia. Bella was struggling trying to find out ways to connect with different countries, including the United States, to set up clinical studies, and that all turned around when Libella created an agreement with LATAM, that's now called Bioaccess.

(01:02):

And ever since then, I have been very impressed with the way that LATAM or Bioaccess has been able to open doors to connect Libella with hospitals and things like that. In Columbia, I've been very impressed. I've taken several trips to Columbia to meet the doctors and look at the hospitals. I've been very impressed, excited about what LATAM or Bioaccess has been able to accomplish for Libella. I truly believe they could not have done that on their own. And so I'm very glad that Libella has aligned themselves with Bioaccess to get these things going. I've also been extremely impressed with the clinical protocols that have been written by Bioaccess that exceed anything that I think we or Libella could have pulled off on our own. I've been very impressed with Monica Mora, Julio Martinez, and Chris Venner. Monica is one of the most organized people I've ever met or worked with. I'm just amazed at how when we have meetings, big meetings with lots of participants, or where we go to Columbia and meet with hospitals and have conferences with doctors and stuff.

(02:30):

These meetings get so intense that there's no way me or anybody else could be taking minutes for the meetings and stuff like that. And then after the meetings, I find that, boy, I can't remember half of what we decided to do. And then lo and behold, Monica sends me the minutes and I just am so impressed that she was on top of everything. She understood everything so well. And she was able to write it all down in a way that it make sense to all of us and it was something that we could work with, that really helped move things along.

(03:00):

I've also been very, very impressed with how Julio has connected us with some of the best hospitals and best doctors that I've ever seen anywhere in the world, let alone Colombia. I mean, these have been super impressed. And I've been very impressed with Chris Venner's knowledge and skills in just the field of medicine and be able to write up a lot of technical stuff that is way beyond my area of expertise. And so I have been very glad from the very minute that we've been working with Bioaccess that we have somebody who actually knows what they're doing and can pull all this stuff together and make it into a protocol that we can be proud of. Looking forward to continuing this relationship with Bioaccess, and I highly recommend it to anybody that is interested in doing any kind of business in Colombia.