Billionaire investors and a new crop of longevity biotechs are betting big money on a lifespan-altering tipping point.
Those looking to stave off the effects of aging will try just about anything, from calorie restriction and cold water plunges to vigorous exercise, and supplements. But billionaires and top scientists are betting on biotechs to find the fountain of youth.
In the past few years, companies focused on increasing human longevity or reversing age-related diseases have cropped up, backed by big dollars and big names.
Among them is Altos Labs, with $3 billion in funding from backers that include billionaires Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Israeli business magnate Yuri Milner. And then there’s Retro Biosciences, which pulled in $180 million from OpenAI founder Sam Altman, as well as companies like Calico Labs, Life Biosciences, and most recently Clock Bio — which came out of stealth in August with $4 million in funding and who have also seen sizable investments.
“I’ve definitely seen the market change, just in the little over two years I’ve been involved in this space,” said Jerry McLaughlin, CEO at Life Biosciences, a company targeting the biology of aging to treat age-related diseases.
While the idea of unwinding changes wrought by age isn’t new, what has progressed is the science, McLaughlin said, pointing out that the industry is reaching a tipping point.
“Now we have the ability to identify that aging is not just random wear and tear,” McLaughlin said. “There are biological changes that make our bodies more susceptible and likely to contract diseases or injury, and we can target those biologically — that’s the big difference.”
Read the full article: Has the science of anti-aging caught up with the dream of a longer life? | PharmaVoice