Tech

Eric Leire: How Biotechnology Can Contribute To Longevity Research

Published

5 years ago

August 6, 2021

Dr. Eric Leire, MD, MBA, is the CEO and Founder of GenFlow Biosciences. He has an impressive background in the biotechnology and gene therapy sector. Furthermore, Eric has a plethora of remarkable experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having held Pfizer, Schering Plough, and Pharmacia posts. His success has also translated into academic research, where he has held a research position at Harvard University.

In addition, his career has soared throughout the biotechnology industry, being the CEO of several private and public biotech companies. He is also the inventor of several patents and serves on the board of several biotechnology companies, such as Pherecydes (ALPHE.PA), Immunethep (developing a Covid vaccine), Inhatarget, and BSIM.

With the Biotech sector forecast to grow close to $2.5 trillion by 2028 – the financial benefits are straightforward and the moral importance to serve societal needs. In addition, research into longevity and healthy aging have progressed rapidly in recent years. We chatted with Eric, who explains how developments in the biotechnology sector can aid the longevity research process.

“Many US biotech companies shifted their research focus to improving longevity. However, only a few European biotech companies are working on a science-based development of therapeutic interventions that could delay the aging process.”

He continues, “Our company is interested in identifying the genetic and molecular pathways underpinning the aging process.” Specifically, Genflow Biosciences’ work is based on the fact that DNA repair plays a crucial role in determining an organism’s lifespan. As humans and other mammals grow older, our DNA is more and more prone to breaks. GenFlow intends to provide extra copies of a gene involved in DNA repair called SIRT6 and, more specifically, a variant of the SIRT6 found in centenarians. The additional copies of centenarian SIRT6 will improve the ability to repair DNA damage.

The feasibility of gene transfer to patients was demonstrated around 30 years ago and these methods have improved substantially. As a result, many commercial gene therapy candidates are now focussing on gene therapy for multiple diseases.

Scientists now can inject more efficient AAVs that can express a transgene such as SIRT6 into specific cells. Like other viruses, the tropism of an AAV for particular cells is controlled by the particular interaction between the proteins of its capsid (the protein shell enclosing the AAV genetic material) and the receptors of the targeted cells. In the last decade, there has been a tremendous advance in the ability to design novel, highly efficient AAVs that can target specific cells or organs.

Having a toolbox of enhanced AAVs is an important step; however, to develop an effective SIRT6 gene delivery, we also needed an understanding of the potential immunity to AAVs. A pre-existing barrier to AAV gene delivery stems from our natural exposure to AAV, resulting in a possible pre-existing humoral and cellular immunity to AAVs. Even a highly efficient and specific AAV delivering an ideal transgene (such as SIRT6) means nothing if an immune response prevents the AAV from reaching the appropriate cells. Therefore, it is critical when translating AAV gene delivery for clinical applications first to determine whether the patient has pre-existing immunity to AAV and then mitigate the development of potentially damaging immune responses when the gene is delivered intravenously. Fortunately, several studies have assessed the immune response to AAV-mediated gene therapy in both pre-clinical models and human patients. Overcoming pre-existing immunity is not trivial, but we now have strategies to enable AAV treatment without triggering immunity.

Eric believes that GenFlow’s contribution to advancing the understanding of anti-AAV immunity in our pre-clinical program. During clinical trials will help not only the development of our product but will also participate in the development of other safe and highly efficacious AAV therapies for other diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer.

Tech

CypherFace Targets Payment Fraud with Pre-Transaction Biometric Verification

Published

23 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Jonathan Grilli

Photo courtesy of CypherFace

A U.S.-based fintech company has deployed a facial biometric system that verifies user identity before digital payments are processed. CypherFace, which began commercial operations in 2024, is positioning its technology as a proactive defense against payment fraud that now costs billions annually.

Founder Syed Samir Hassan said the company developed the platform in response to the limitations of fraud detection systems that identify problems after transactions have already occurred. “Traditional fraud tools are reactive by design. They analyze patterns and flag suspicious activity, but the money has often already moved. We’re stopping it before the transaction completes,” Hassan said.

The Fraud Problem

Digital payment fraud has grown substantially despite existing security measures. Payment fraud in the European Economic Area increased to €4.2 billion in 2024, up 17% from 2023, according to data from the European Central Bank and European Banking Authority. Credit transfer fraud alone saw a 24% increase.

Synthetic identity fraud, which involves creating fictitious identities using combinations of real and fabricated personal information, has become particularly problematic. False identity cases increased 60% in 2024 compared to the previous year. These synthetic identities often pass initial verification checks because they use legitimate data elements.

Hassan said CypherFace was designed specifically to address this threat vector. “Synthetic identities work because they look clean on paper. They pass KYC checks. They build credit histories. But they can’t pass a live biometric verification tied to a real person. That’s the fundamental flaw we exploit.“

The company reports that fraudsters increasingly use AI-generated documents and deepfake technology to bypass security systems. CypherFace’s liveness detection technology is designed to identify these sophisticated spoofing attempts during the authentication process.

How the Technology Works

CypherFace provides businesses with an API that integrates into payment infrastructure. When a user initiates a transaction, the system prompts for facial verification. The technology captures and encrypts a facial scan, then applies AI-driven liveness detection to confirm a physically present individual is authorizing the payment.

The system processes the verification in real time without storing raw biometric data. Facial scans are converted into encrypted, non-reversible hashes. The platform returns only a verification result to the merchant, indicating whether the transaction should proceed.

“We designed this to be invisible to legitimate users and impossible for fraudsters,” Hassan said. “A real customer takes two seconds to verify. A criminal using a stolen card or synthetic identity can’t get past the liveness check. The math is simple.“

Deployment and Results

An e-commerce payment processor deployed CypherFace across its checkout infrastructure in late 2024. The processor was experiencing elevated chargeback rates driven by card-not-present fraud. Within 45 days of implementation, CypherFace flagged more than 1,200 fraudulent transactions that had previously bypassed existing security layers.

The integration reduced chargebacks by 62% in the monitored segment. The processor reported improved merchant satisfaction as legitimate transactions experienced minimal additional friction. The company has since expanded CypherFace to additional merchant accounts.

Hassan noted that the technology addresses a specific gap in payment security. “Most fraud prevention happens at the network level or through transaction monitoring. We’re adding a layer that asks a simple question: is the person trying to make this payment actually who they claim to be? If they’re not, the payment doesn’t happen.“

Market Expansion

CypherFace currently operates in the United States and is preparing to expand into Canada and Mexico in 2026. The company is targeting payment processors, merchant acquirers, and platforms with high transaction volumes and elevated fraud exposure.

Hassan said the company sees demand from businesses struggling with the cost of chargebacks and fraud losses. “Every fraudulent transaction costs more than the transaction value when you factor in chargeback fees, lost merchandise, and reputational damage. Businesses are looking for solutions that actually prevent fraud rather than just detect it after the fact.“

The fintech sector has broadly adopted biometric authentication, with major banks and digital financial platforms using facial recognition and fingerprint scanning for account access and transaction authorization. CypherFace is focusing specifically on payment verification rather than account login.

“We’re not trying to replace existing security. We’re adding a verification layer at the most critical point in the transaction flow,” Hassan said. “When money is about to move, we make sure the right person is authorizing it. Everything else is secondary to that.“