Anti-aging is a centuries-long problem and we don’t have an answer.
Here is a summary of current notable efforts that might provide some sort of solution.
Biopharma/Therapeutics Approach
Unity Biotechnology – eliminate senescent cells
- [Darren Baker] & [Jan van Deursen], inventors on patents licensed to Unity; and J.M.v.D. is a co-founder of Unity
- November 2011, a foundational paper published on Nature – Clearance of p16Ink4a-positive senescent cells delays ageing-associated disorders
- February 2016, another foundational paper published on Nature – Naturally occurring p16Ink4a-positive cells shorten healthy lifespan
- November 2016, $116 million Series B, with an additional closing of $35 million in August 2017
- [Judith Campisi], co-founder of Unity
- a leading figure in the biology of aging since the early 1990s
- her research is on the role of cellular senescence in cancer and other age-related diseases
- a review on Four faces of cellular senescence in 2011
- a MIT Technology Review conversation with Camplisi
- March 2018, $55 million Series C, with an additional closing of $5 million in April
- May 2018, $85 million IPO
- Pipeline (Dec. 2018)
- Lead candidate UBX0101, a first-in-class senolytic molecule
- Preclinical – April 2017, a paper published on Nature Medicine, Local clearance of senescent cells attenuates the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis and creates a pro-regenerative environment, the selective elimination of senescent cells in the knees of mice, and slow of the progression of disease, reduced pain, and induced cartilage production in human knee tissue grown in culture.
- Phase I
- IND cleared by FDA in April 2018
- clinical trial
- First patient dosed in June 2018
- Cohort expansion in December 2018 with a higher dose (4 mg), compared with previous cohorts 1 through 5 (0.1 to 2 mg dose)
- UBX1967
- January 2019, completed license agreement with Ascentage Pharma, granting Unity the exclusive worldwide development and commercialization rights and non-exclusive manufacturing rights outside of Greater China (China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) for UBX1967 in all non-oncology indications. Inside Greater China, UNITY is obligated to commercialize UBX1967 through a joint venture with Ascentage Pharma. The UBX1967 License Agreement also grants UNITY the right to continue its preclinical development efforts with respect to another Ascentage Pharma-controlled Bcl-2 inhibitor compound that will serve as a back-up to UBX1967.
- Per the 2016 pact, should Unity choose to license at least one more products, the Chinese biotech will gain a total of 1,333,338 shares
- plans to file an IND application for UBX1967 in the second half of 2019
Calico – A previous google company
- Founded in 2013, Calico started within Google (later Alphabet) and soon jump-started with huge fundings – a $1.5 billion initiative/collaboration in September 2014 with Abbvie. “AbbVie and Calico will each initially provide up to $250 million to fund the collaboration with the potential for both sides to contribute an additional $500 million.”
- In June 2018, the collaboration was extended with another $1 billion. “AbbVie and Calico will each commit to contribute an additional $500 million to the collaboration.”
- It was also cited that “since 2014, the collaboration between the two companies has produced more than two dozen early-stage programs addressing disease states across oncology and neuroscience and yielded new insights into the biology of aging.”
samumed
- Raised $438M in August 2018 at a valuation of $12 billion
- 8 programs in its pipeline: two Phase II drugs, five in Phase I, and one preclinical (Endpoints reported in Aug. 2018); one of the Phase II drug in Androgenetic Alopecia has moved to Phase III (Jan. 2019)
Napa Therapeutics
- Buck Institute + Juvenescence + Insilico Medicine
- Formed in August 2018
- based on research in NAD metabolism conducted in the lab of Eric Verdin, MD, President and CEO of the Buck Institute
Data Approach
Juvenescence AI
- A subsidiary of Juvenescence, a joint effort of Juvenescence + Insilico Medicine
- Formed in July 2017
Human Longevity
- Was valued at $1.6 billion in 2017 with fundings from Celgene, Illumina, GE Ventures, etc.
- Declined to a valuation of $310 million according to a WSJ report
Portfolio Approach
Juvenescence
- Raised $50 million Series A in June 2018 and $46 million Series B-1 in Jan 2019
- Investments/Subsidiaries
- Juvenescence AI (see above)
- Napa Therapeutics (see above)
- August 2018, $43.2 million cash + note 50/50 to BioTime (NYSE: BTX) for AgeX shares
- June 2018, $5 million investments in AgeX Therapeutics
- May 2018, $3 million investment in LyGenesis
- Insilico Medicine
Life Biosciences
- Jan. 2019 Series B of $50 million
- co-founded in 2017 by David Sinclair and Tristan Edwards
- 8 Subsidiaries
- Prana Biotechnology (an initial $7.5 million investment in Jan.2019)
- Lua, HIPAA-compliant medical technology platform (acquired in Oct. 2018)
- Senolytic Therapeutics acquired at a very early stage
- Jumpstart Fertility acquired at a very early stage
- the other four were formed in-house (Selphagy Tx, Spotlight Biosciences, Continuum Biosciences, Animal Biosciences)
Somehow, reminded me of Theranos… also an area that might not be reguated by FDA… (Ageing is not a disease by FDA’s definition) and some are backed by non-traditional biotech VC firms… But most seemed to be more experienced and sophisticated in biology and medicine (than Theranos’ average).