DeSci Leader Gets Creative: Can Pump.science Excel in “Biomedical Memes”?
At the Solana Breakpoint conference during Token 2049, the Desci platform Molecule DAO launched a new meme token platform, Pump.science. Unlike other meme token platforms, Pump.science distinguishes itself not through its token issuance mechanism but by allowing medical researchers to submit drug research proposals, conduct tests on worms, and share the results on the platform. Users can engage in the experimental process by trading meme coins that represent the drugs.
Introducing Meme Coins to Incentivize Drug Research
Pump.science can be seen as a token-based longevity experiment prediction game. It issues meme tokens representing drugs on Pump.fun, allowing players to trade directly. Once the market cap reaches $10,000, the medical research organization ORA Biomedical will apply the drug in experiments and periodically publish results on the PUMP.SCIENCE platform. Based on these results, players can predict the drug’s efficacy and continue trading the meme tokens.
Upon entering the Pump.science website, users can choose to support proposals submitted by others and purchase relevant tokens. When a token’s market cap reaches the initiation threshold, the drug is applied in experiments. During this process, users can view real-time experimental data to evaluate the drug’s effectiveness.
By incorporating a drug experiment prediction mechanism, purchasing meme coins effectively acts as a vote for a specific drug. Ideally, if token price trends align with drug trial data, this could provide an incentive for medical research, gamifying longevity studies. Users can determine whether the drug strategy can extend human life based on experimental data, thus participating in investment decisions.
The Pump.science interface features a Marketplace page showcasing the experimental effects and price curves of completed projects, facilitating user comparisons. For example, clicking on the experimental project Rifampicin reveals the experimental results and market data for that compound. Compared to the control group of worms, Rifampicin demonstrated a 32.87% lifespan extension effect. A higher “Percentage Life Extension” (PLE) indicates greater potential returns, encouraging user engagement.
From Molecule DAO’s perspective, longevity research faces challenges similar to those in the crypto space, including costs, data retrieval times, and data quality. To address these, Molecule DAO introduced a medical experiment mechanism using 20-day lifespan worms as test subjects, allowing regular users to participate in medical research through meme coin trading while researchers obtain results more quickly and affordably.
The Wormbo platform, developed by Matt Kaeberlein and Mitchell Lee’s Ora Biomedical, is a low-cost, rapid experimental platform designed to test numerous potential longevity therapies using the 20-day lifespan worms, making it ideal for quick screening and analysis in life sciences.
How Long Will the “Web3 + Research” Market Stay Cold?
Molecule DAO, which launched Pump.Science, is a biotechnology research fundraising platform founded by Tyler Golato and Paul Kohlhaas. It has previously invested in the open-source drug development organization LabDAO and received a $100 investment from Sora Ventures.
Molecule DAO proposes leveraging IP-NFT technology to combine intellectual property with cryptocurrency, allowing shared ownership of research projects. Founders Golato and Kohlhaas also created Bio.xyz, focused on helping DeSci DAOs utilize IP-NFTs to fund, manage, and develop global university intellectual property through DeSci accelerators.
Currently, Pump.Science has launched two tokens: Urostone ($URO) and Rifampicin ($RIF). Users can participate in predicting and trading experimental results with these tokens. Both tokens were listed on September 21, and within two hours, their prices surged 20 times, only to subsequently drop over 90%, with just 29 trades recorded in the last 24 hours.
The launch of Pump.Science represents another exploration by Molecule DAO in expanding the commercialization and funding avenues for research outcomes. However, traders currently prefer more liquid project mechanisms, where popularity plays a crucial role in driving meme coins rather than scientific value.
Consequently, Pump.science’s market response has fallen short of expectations. As the project develops, more tokens may launch, offering users additional choices and opportunities for engagement, making the ongoing evolution of DeSci worth watching.