Thank for doing this! Why didn't the developing company go to market?
14
Recreate the cavity-preventing GMO bacteria BCS3-L1 from precursor
CompleteGrant
$40,640raised
Project summary
(FTX Future Fund awarded us $120k for this project, but they went bankrupt before we actually received it.)
Dental cavities cost about $45 billion per year in America alone, disproportionately affecting lower-income persons. BCS3-L1 is a genetically engineered streptococcus mutans bacteria which does not secrete lactic acid, and thereby doesn't cause cavities in teeth. After a single application, this strain persists in the mouth indefinitely, hedging out cavity-causing bacteria. (See our FAQ and safety review at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mDJCTO2QySmQOZQcajYReDCA1MFpKs-EZ5E0VNu50Fo/)
This passed animal trials back in 2003 (under the brand name SMaRT, Streptococcus Mutans associated Replacement Therapy) and tested flawlessly in human volunteers, but the developing company declined to go to market, and instead pivoted to selling once-daily probiotic mouthwash.
Project goals
Eventually, to cure cavities for everyone forever.
How will this funding be used?
BCS3-L1 isn't under patent, but possession remains a significant part of the law. Although I have the blessing of the original inventor Dr. Jeffrey Hillman, he and his former company Oragenics have parted ways, and as far as we can tell, they're the only holders of the organism.
But, there's nothing preventing us from recreating BCS3-L1 ourselves from commercially available precursor bacteria.
What is your (team's) track record on similar projects?
-I spent five years at MIRI as Operations Lead.
-I produce a video game that's #42 in category on Patreon, with an 11-person team, making six-figures with >1,000,000 downloads.
-I run Heist and Geist and Heist: Sunlit Forge; welcometotheheist.com
-I'm nominated for the Nebula for fiction, and was published in Asterisk three days ago under the name Jamie Wahls.
-I run Aella's media empire.
How could this project be actively harmful?
-Well, it certainly isn't great for our Weirdness Points budget.
-Fewer than 15 people have actually had this in their mouths already, and success is not guaranteed. Animal studies do not always translate to human efficacy, regardless how compelling.
What other funding is this person or project getting?
Lantern Bioworks has also applied to Lightspeed Grants for a different phase of this project.
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Peter Marreck
almost 2 years ago
@seed It says right after... "and instead pivoted to selling once-daily probiotic mouthwash". Clearly, they thought this was a better long-term-profitability gamble.
I wish people would generally have more faith in themselves and solve the problems that can be solved and then move onto the next problem to solve, because this sort of behavior is counterproductive to everyone for the sake of 1 company's bottom line.
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Aaron Silverbook
about 2 years ago
Final report
Description of subprojects and results, including major changes from the original proposal
Ladies and gentlemen, we got him
We didn't recreate BCS3-L1 from JH1140 as planned, but rather negotiated a deal with Oragenics directly. Then, after some experiments in lyophilization / stability testing, and some self-experimentation, we (as Lantern Bioworks) are now pursuing GRAS certification to make this an over-the-counter, direct-to-consumer product in America.
Meanwhile, if you want it now and are willing to travel to Honduras, you can sign up to buy the alpha product through luminaprobiotic.com , or reach out directly to our partner clinic, info@GARMclinic.com
Spending breakdown
>100% of the funds raised went towards strain acquisition.
donated $10
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Alex Kleinman
over 2 years ago
Have you considered bringing this to market for pets initially as a faster/easier path?
Rachel Weinberg
over 2 years ago
Approving this!
The plan is for the $40k from Austin and Isaak to go in as an investment, where profits go to their regranting budgets. Contributions from other users will go through as regular donations.
Now all that's left is for @AaronSilverbook to sign the agreement.
Rachel Weinberg
over 2 years ago
@AaronSilverbook oh I should have clarified, this is different than the SAFE agreement, I meant just the standard grant agreement that everyone signs (or rather, checks a box on). It's linked at the top of this project page.
donated $20,000
Isaak Freeman
over 2 years ago
Matching Austin's commitment. I think this is ambitious and feasible. It's just awesome to cure caries forever, and also to serve as an inspiration of projects that are simultaneously ambitious, altruistic, and potentially self-sustaining companies. I don't mind whether this is an investment or a grant.
donated $20,000
Austin Chen
over 2 years ago
Putting down $20k of my regrantor budget for now (though as mentioned, we'll likely structure this as a SAFE investment instead of a grant, once we've finished getting commitments from regrantors)
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Aaron Silverbook
over 2 years ago
Technically speaking, it probably does raise the risk some, but I don't actually predict it to be a problem; see the Safety Review section "Will I get drunk?"
🐶
your assessment assumes that the bacteria won't adapt and proliferate beyond the oral microbiome. the risk of autobrewery is never from the microbes in your mouth- it's from the microbes in your gut.
so it's borked from the get-go.
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Aaron Silverbook
over 2 years ago
@7b7599c6-0cb1-4473-8d5b-d4687cc16b39
Oh, the odds of it successfully colonizing the gut seem very low to me. Humans are constantly swallowing wild S mutans without issue, so I don't expect it to gain a foothold on its own. The mutacin 1140 could be an issue, but mutacin isn't very stable through the stomach acid, and the half-life/pharmokinetics are pretty bad; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6256755/.
BCS3L1 contains JH1140's knockouts for genetic stability, too, so I expect it to mutate much less than standard S mutans. A year of rat testing didn't indicate disruption to their gut microbiota.
Additionally, the people who self-colonized with strains like JH1005 haven't reported any issue ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
If everyone on earth colonized with this, I suppose I do expect someone to get autobrewery, because multiplying a very small number by a very big number does yield a number, but I don't expect to see that failure state in the first million people.
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Aaron Silverbook
over 2 years ago
(See the safety review section, "How might this disrupt the microbiome", subheading, "In the gut"
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Mukunda Modell
over 2 years ago
What about the risk of failing a breathalyzer? Is the amount of alcohol produces in the range where this could even potentially be an issue?
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Aaron Silverbook
over 2 years ago
BCS3L1 secretes 0.032 grams of ethanol over 24 hours. A shot of vodka is about 12 grams of ethanol.
I strongly doubt it'll make anyone fail a breathalyzer, but I'll let you know once I've put it in my mouth.
Anton Makiievskyi
over 2 years ago
+1 to @Austin. I'd be more excited to see it as an investment instead of a grant
donated $20,000
Austin Chen
over 2 years ago
Thanks for submitting this, Aaron! We really like this kind of concrete object-level proposal, which is ambitious yet starts off affordable, and you have quite the track record on a variety of projects. A few questions:
As this is a project for Lantern Bioworks, would you be open to receiving this as an investment (eg a SAFE) instead of grant funding?
If funded, what do you think your chances of success are, and where are you most likely to fail? (I've set up a Manifold Market asking this question)
Could you link to your Lightspeed application as well?
Conflict of interest note, Aaron was an angel investor in Manifold Market's seed round.
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Aaron Silverbook
over 2 years ago
We can 100% accept SAFEs. We actually just opened fundraising; you can reach out at aaron@lanternbioworks.com or through our website, lanternbioworks.com
I think our odds are very good. I'm working with the original inventors, Drs. Hillman and Smith, who made it the first time.
I'm not sure that I can link to my Lightspeed application? The link they sent me is an edit link, and I don't want to post that on the public internet.