Conventional funding for scientific research has been dominated by centralized structures like governments, private entities, and pharmaceutical companies, which often prioritize the interests of their investors or primary stakeholders. A major consequence of this is biased or limited funding for certain research prospects.
The “reproducibility crisis” in healthcare, where negative results aren’t published to maintain competitive edges, exemplifies issues caused by this monopolization of innovation through “patent thickets” and lack of data sharing.
Well, this would not continue for long. There is now a shift towards decentralized operating models in science and healthcare and VitaDAO is a brilliant example of these Decentralized Science (DeSci) systems.
VitaDAO, established in 2021, aims to address the aforementioned challenges by leveraging blockchain technology. It operates a governance framework based on the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) concept along with other blockchain-based tools like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and automated market makers (AMMs) to align incentives and drive early-stage funding for longevity biopharmaceuticals.
In this article, we examine how VitaDAO is trying to achieve its aims, the benefits this brings to the healthcare and longevity sector and the potential hurdles on its path.
Let’s get to it.
How VitaDAO Takes Advantage of the DAO Structure
The purpose of a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) is decentralization, transparency, and democratizing access in governance processes. As such, it offers numerous advantages compared to other forms of governance for any endeavor, including funding for scientific projects. There are a couple of reasons why this is the case.
Unlike large institutions with rigid hierarchies and departments, DAOs operate through code-based governance, minimizing the need for managers, meetings, and complex organizational structures.
Compared to DAOs, large organizations now face diseconomies of scale because DAOs can focus and change. The ability to focus becomes a competitive advantage.
In a large organization, a highly effective person must sit in on presentations, manage employees, and spend time on tasks that do not contribute to the company’s mission. In a DAO, the same person can write proposals and provide feedback on other people’s proposals.
This focus benefits the organization because it devotes more time and energy to well-thought-out decisions. By eliminating bureaucratic overhead, DAOs enable participants to concentrate on decision-making and problem-solving, fostering a more efficient and agile approach.
Finally, DAOs are communities of like-minded individuals working together to solve common problems, promoting collaboration and shared ownership. This social aspect of DAOs distinguishes them from traditional organizations because it actively promotes collaboration and shared ownership.
For VitaDAO, which was formed with the mission of making people live longer by doing open and democratic research, funding, and business with longevity therapies, the DAO structure allows it to exist as an open collaborative in which anyone can participate and provide support.
VitaDAO operates through working groups that collaborate via open communication channels, such as Discourse and Discord. Unlike traditional corporations, where a select few individuals make key decisions, in a DAO, token holders collectively cast their votes to determine the project’s direction. VitaDAO reportedly comprises a community of over 9,000 “enthusiasts, researchers and contributors.”
The group is governed by its native VITA token and holders can vote on what projects to support, while a group of “stewards” helps to “facilitate” the execution of those proposals
The project takes this further with the integration of smart contracts. Smart contracts handle the payment of vendors, members, and so on. Members vote on proposals written in code to determine the company’s direction. The work is managed using smart contracts, which determine the organization’s regulations. This reduces the possibility of human error, such as poor judgment, which could occur in a more traditional system.
On the other hand, the project generates Intellectual Property NFTs (IP NFTs) from completed research projects. These can be monetized to fund future initiatives, furthering decentralization and scientific innovation. VitaDAO will own IP rights to novel therapeutics, and data will be accessible through open marketplaces like Ocean.
In essence, the DAO structure allows VitaDAO to achieve its goals of reducing funding decision life cycles significantly, attracting leading scientists worldwide to participate in longevity research and making IP/Patent ownership decentralized:
What VitaDAO Brings to the Longevity/Healthcare Industry
VitaDAO offers two primary advantages over the existing funding models in the healthcare industry.
Funding High-Risk, High-Reward Research.
Traditional funding sources, such as government grants and venture capital, often prioritize lower-risk projects with more predictable outcomes due to the need to justify the allocation of limited resources. However, groundbreaking discoveries often emerge from high-risk, exploratory research that falls into the “valley of death” – the gap between early-stage research and commercialization.
VitaDAO’s decentralized funding model allows it to allocate resources towards these high-risk, high-reward “moonshot” ideas in longevity science, fostering an environment conducive to potential breakthroughs that could significantly extend human healthspan and lifespan.
For example, pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, reportedly led a funding round in the VitaDAO in January 2023 because the project could fund research it would not directly commit its resources and funds to.
Promoting Open Science and Collaboration
The traditional scientific research model has been criticized for its siloed approach, where researchers and institutions operate in relative isolation, leading to duplication of efforts and slowing the pace of progress. VitaDAO’s embrace of open science principles and democratic ownership encourages global collaboration among leading scientists, regardless of their institutional affiliations.
By bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise, VitaDAO facilitates the sharing of ideas, data, and resources, promoting cross-pollination of knowledge and accelerating the pace of discovery. The DAO structure, with its emphasis on shared ownership and collective decision-making, incentivizes cooperation towards shared goals rather than competition for individual recognition or intellectual property rights.
Open Data and IP Sharing
Building upon the principles of open science, VitaDAO leverages open data marketplaces and IP NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to facilitate data sharing and collaborative innovation. Open data marketplaces allow researchers to access and contribute to shared data repositories, enabling them to build upon each other’s work more effectively and avoid duplicating efforts.
IP NFTs, which represent tokenized intellectual property rights on the blockchain, provide a transparent and auditable means of tracking and managing intellectual property ownership, while also enabling researchers to selectively share or license their IP to others within the DAO ecosystem. This approach promotes transparency, accessibility, and efficient knowledge transfer, ultimately accelerating the pace of discovery and innovation in the longevity field.
Limitations/Problems of VitaDAO
Phil Newman, CEO of CEO & Founder Longevity.Technology described the VitaDAO project as the “most efficient allocator of resources in aging and longevity research.”While that might be true, the long-term viability of the system remains a concern due to the nascent nature of the DAO model in scientific research. The following reasons explain these concerns.
1. Decentralization Challenges
While the principle of decentralization is a core tenet of the DAO model, achieving true decentralization in decision-making and governance can be difficult in practice. Despite the use of decentralized voting mechanisms, some participants may hold outsized influence due to factors such as token holdings, reputation, or network effects.
This concentration of power can potentially undermine the democratic principles of the DAO and lead to decisions that may not accurately reflect the collective will of the community. The big question is how is the project going to prevent that?
2. Regulatory Uncertainty
The legal and regulatory landscape surrounding DAOs, decentralized science initiatives, and tokenized intellectual property (IP) is still in its infancy and evolving rapidly.
This regulatory uncertainty creates potential roadblocks and uncertainties for VitaDAO’s operations and future development. Issues such as the legal status of DAOs, the enforceability of smart contracts, the treatment of tokenized IP, and the taxation of DAO activities remain largely unresolved or inconsistent across jurisdictions. This lack of clarity can hinder adoption, limit access to traditional funding sources, and expose VitaDAO and its participants to potential legal and financial risks.
3. Adoption Hurdles
Convincing traditional scientific institutions and researchers to embrace decentralized models like VitaDAO may be challenging due to entrenched practices, mindsets, and resistance to change. Many scientists and institutions have established workflows, funding mechanisms, and incentive structures that may be incompatible with the DAO model.
Additionally, concerns about intellectual property rights, data ownership, and academic recognition may deter some researchers from participating in open science initiatives. Overcoming these cultural and structural barriers will require significant efforts in education, incentive alignment, and demonstrating the tangible benefits of the DAO approach.
4. Technical Complexities
Implementing robust and secure smart contracts for critical operations, such as funding distribution, IP management, and governance, can be technically complex and prone to vulnerabilities if not executed properly. Smart contracts, once deployed on the blockchain, are immutable and cannot be easily modified or updated, making it crucial to ensure their correctness and security from the outset.
Vulnerabilities or bugs in smart contracts can have severe consequences, including loss of funds, disruption of operations, or exploitation by malicious actors. Ensuring the technical integrity of VitaDAO’s infrastructure requires significant expertise in blockchain development, security auditing, and ongoing maintenance.
Final Thoughts
While Decentralized Science DAOs (DeSci DAOs) like VitaDAO are still in their infancy, their numbers are rapidly growing, signalling a shift towards a more collaborative and transparent operating model in science and healthcare. As the community expands, more insights into the strengths and weaknesses of this approach will emerge.
Despite potential initial challenges, this transition holds the promise of delivering drugs and scientific discoveries to people faster, more effectively, and at lower costs. By funding innovative and unconventional projects, DAOs can foster a more diverse and inclusive research landscape, driving progress in areas like longevity therapeutics.
As the world embraces blockchain technology and decentralized governance models, initiatives like VitaDAO are paving the way for a future where scientific research is driven by collaboration, transparency, and collective ownership.
Disclaimer: This article is intended solely for informational purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein should be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading or investing in cryptocurrencies carries a considerable risk of financial loss. Always conduct due diligence.
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