Longevity
Hacking the giant tortoise: the startups trying to extend the human lifespan
Last updated: 10 Mar 2022
Market 101
What if death was just another problem to solve? Sounds crazy, of course, but the animal world offers examples of species whose risk of death does not increase significantly as they age — think of the cheerful 100+ year old giant tortoise. A new wave of startups is now trying to tap into the tortoise and replicate its secrets to longer life. Instead of targeting age-related diseases like cancer or heart attacks one by one, they’re seeking to slow the ageing process as a whole and prevent those diseases from occurring in the first place.
For some startups, the focus is on nearer-term goals, like accurately measuring our biological age, while others are already developing drugs that could ultimately extend our lifespans. For many, the research baseline is a 2013 report which established specific hallmarks of ageing for the first time — but it’s also thanks to advances in data analysis that the field is now taking off. That’s not to say startups are betting on a sure thing. They’re taking a trial and error approach to see which path is most — or just somewhat — effective, hoping to be among those who emerge from the dark to windfall success.
Early stage market map
Key facts
$1.9bn
global funding for longevity startups in 20211
45
number of longevity clinical trials in 2021 (up from 37 in 2011)2
36
% of longevity clinical studies in 2021 that focused on age-related mitochondrial dysfunction3
Trends to watch
1. Baby life hacks
→ Compared with their counterparts in drug development, startups providing (supposedly) life-lengthening supplements face a more straightforward path to revenue.
→ They’re focusing on ingredients like metformin, melatonin and NMN to bring the first longevity products to market now.
2. Stop the biological clock
→ Companies developing longevity drugs face a daunting task, while examining changes in ageing biomarkers offers a more straightforward way to measure efficacy.
→ Startups are developing new approaches to accurately measure biological age, for example by applying AI to data alongside biological markers.
3. The joy of cell division
→ “Senescent” cells are those that have divided too many times, contributing to an acceleration of ageing processes.
→ Scientists have run successful experiments extending the lifespan of mice by removing these cells — and startups are now running the first such trials in humans.
4. No clear regulatory path
→ Longevity startups face all the usual obstacles experienced by companies working in drug development — plus they’re tackling an issue that’s not yet recognised as a disease by health regulators.
→ Rather than doing studies on the problem of ageing as a whole, companies can only focus on one age-related disease at a time, making the research process slow and costly.
Startups tracked by Sifted
Sifted take
Longevity is probably the sector of ultimate risk and reward. While research has boomed in recent years, the longevity world is still plagued by a knowledge deficit on exactly which tissues in the body disproportionately contribute to ageing. As such, there’s no way of knowing, yet, which startups will live longest. If the tortoise is any guide, slow and steady could well win the race.
Rising stars
Backed by the likes of Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures and Hoxton Ventures, Ochre Bio develops medicines to rejuvenate transplanted livers by identifying disease-causing genes.
Round
Seed
Date
2021
Size
€8.1m
Provides an app that monitors users’ rate of ageing and helps them slow it down. Cofounder Peter Ward previously cofounded travel platform WAYN, which was acquired by lastminute.com.
Round
Seed
Valuation
€11.4
Date
2021
Size
€2.3
Provides longevity supplements to consumers. Cofounder Pascal Rode’s previous venture, an asset management platform, was acquired by Acolin.
Round
Seed
Valuation
€2.5m
Date
2022
Size
€2.5m
Early stage startups to watch
Age Labs
Diagnostics
-
-
-
Avea
Prevention
€2.5m
€2.5m
€10m
Celeris Therapeutics
Treatment
€4.8m
€3.9m
€19.3m
Cleara Biotech
Treatment
-
-
-
Flomics Biotech
Molecular genetics,Diagnostics
Genome sequencing
€1.2m
€1m
€2.5m
GlycanAge Ltd
Diagnostics
€400k
€400k
€14m
Haya Therapeutics
Treatment
-
€17.6m
-
Hearts Radiant
Prevention
€300k
€2.4m
-
Humanity
Prevention
€4.5m
€2.3m
€11.4m
Medisieve
Treatment
€6.8m
€2.2m
-
Muhdo Health Ltd
Diagnostics
€3.6m
€1.2m
€11m
Ochre Bio
Drug development,rejuvenation
RNA therapies
€8.9m
€8.1m
-
Pharmamel
Prevention
€100k
€100k
-
Senisca
rejuvenation
-
-
-
Tomorrow Biostasis
€2.5m
€2.5m
€12.5m
Europe’s success stories
Who early stage startups are up against
(Pre-)Seed
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D+
IPO/Exit
→ Developed a breathalyser to detect early signs of cancer, as well as inflammatory and infectious diseases
(Pre-)Seed
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D+
IPO/Exit
→ Is developing a platform to accelerate the creation of self-replicating cells, which can be used to replace microtissues and treat chronic degenerative diseases currently without treatment, such as Parkinson’s
→ Is preparing a first in-human trial for 2024
(Pre-)Seed
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D+
IPO/Exit
→ Makes food and drinks to improve metabolism and support healthy ageing
→ Is also building a pipeline of longevity therapeutics with other startups and research institutions
Sources
Research reports
1,2,3 The state of longevity 2021 | 2022 | Longevity Technology
News articles
For 2022, Here's What Startups Are Doing To Extend Our Lifespans | January 2022 | Crunchbase
Anti-ageing and longevity are European investors' new obsessions | December 2021 | Longevity Technology
Meet Altos Labs, Silicon Valley's latest wild bet on living forever | September 2021 | MIT Technology Review
Live Long(er) And Prosper: A Look At Top VC Investments In Radical Life Extension | July 2021 | Crunchbase
The race to stop ageing: 10 breakthroughs that will help us grow old healthily | March 2021 | BBC Science Focus Magazine
The European longevity startups hacking the ageing process | January 2021 | Sifted
Can Anti-Aging Research Keep Us Healthy in the Long Run? | November 2020 | Labiotech
What Does Unity’s Phase II Fail Mean for European Anti-Aging Research? | August 2020 | Labiotech
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