Juvenescence Files IPO Prospectus, Aiming to Extend Human Lifespan to 150 Years Through Anti-Aging Innovations with Buck Institute

The human lifespan is continuously extending.

According to the "2023 World Health Statistics Report" released by the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, life expectancy has increased from 66.8 years in 2000 to 73.3 years in 2019, and is projected to reach 77 years by 2048. Living to seventy is no longer a rarity, but rather an average milestone that most people can achieve. Additionally, the record for the longest human lifespan is also being broken. According to the Guinness World Records, the oldest person currently recorded is Jeanne Calment from France, who lived for 122 years and 164 days.

However,The process of life extension is also a process of aging.. As people age, physiological and sensory functions of the human body decline, and the incidence rates of various diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions, and metabolic disorders increase, ultimately leading to a rise in the proportion of years lived with illness relative to total life expectancy. This also implies that,The extension of life span does not necessarily correspond to the extension of healthy life span., WHO data also shows that healthy life expectancy increased from 58.3 years to 63.7 years between 2000 and 2019, which is far lower than overall life expectancy.

How to delay aging and extend healthy lifespan has become a hot topic of interest for industries and capital. Numerous companies, wealthy individuals, and tech giants have entered the field, hoping to find methods for "eternal youth" and "life extension."Biopharmaceutical company Juvenescence is one of them.。

Juvenescence, founded in 2016, is an anti-aging company dedicated to exploring innovative therapies to delay aging and extend human healthspan.The company's aging research covers multiple aspects, including cellular senescence, stem cell regenerative therapy, neurodegenerative disorders, and gene therapy. Currently,Juvenescence advances the development of multiple anti-aging therapies through independent research, investment, and the establishment of joint ventures with professional institutions or companies.。

It is worth mentioning that,Juvenescence Collaborates with The Buck Institute for Research on Aging to Establish Three Joint Ventures, to promote the development of different anti-aging effects, a ketone ester dietary supplement called Cognitive Switch has been co-developed to improve and maintain health.

Juvenescence, co-founded by British billionaire Jim Mellon, Dr. Greg Bailey, and Dr. Declan Doogan, has completed four rounds of financing, raising a total of $219.2 million.. The investors behind it include well-known investment institutions such as Longevity Vision Fund, IPGL, and Foresite Capital.

Juvenescence Financing History Source: Public Information Compilation, Chart by VCBeat

The reason why Juvenescence is highly favored by capital cannot be separated from the leadership of co-founder Jim Mellon and the support of a professional team.

Juvenescence Team Members Image Source: Juvenescence Official Website

Among them, Jim Mellon is an investor and entrepreneur with extensive experience and interest in numerous industries. After obtaining his master's degree from the University of Oxford, Jim Mellon worked for fund management companies such as GT Management Plc and Thornton Group.And co-founded the renowned investment company Regent Pacific (LJ Pacific) in 1991, currently serving as the company's Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Board.。

As the anti-aging industry gains momentum, Jim Mellon has also seized this development opportunity to become a renowned angel investor in the anti-aging field. In addition to founding Juvenescence, he has invested in several anti-aging companies such as Insilico Medicine, AgeX Therapeutics, and LyGenesis. He also funded the establishment of the Mellon Longevity Centre at Oxford University, hoping to develop therapies that treat aging-related diseases and extend lifespan by exploring key biological pathways and underlying mechanisms associated with aging.

Under the leadership of Jim Mellon, Juvenescence also has the attributes and capabilities for external investment. On the occasion of Juvenescence completing its $100 million Series B financing, Dr. Greg Bailey, another co-founder of the company, also stated,Juvenescence Raises Funds to Support R&D of Other Anti-Aging Projects, Aiming to Extend Human Lifespan to 150 Years¹。

According to incomplete statistics, Juvenescence has currently invested in 7 companies across 14 rounds of funding. In addition, the company has jointly established several firms with the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and Insilico Medicine, including Selah Therapeutics, BHB Therapeutics, Juvenescence AI, Napa Therapeutics, and others. These efforts aim to transform groundbreaking aging research into innovative therapies and interventions to achieve the goal of slowing aging and extending lifespan.

With Juvenescence's excellent investment and financing capabilities and the advantages of its team,Juvenescence's anti-aging treatment strategies include a variety of products such as slowing cellular aging, slowing and reversing neurodegeneration, eliminating senescent cells, replacing aging organs, and editing patient genes., covering multiple directions of aging research.

Through internal development, external investment, and joint ventures, Juvenescence has built an anti-aging drug research ecosystem, collaborating with multiple enterprises and institutions to advance the development of its pipeline products. Currently, the company is focusing on the research and development of five candidate therapeutic drugs, targeting indications such as fibrosis, inflammation, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and other aging-related conditions.

Juvenescence Product Pipeline Image Source: Juvenescence Official Website

Among them,The oral small-molecule CD38 inhibitor, developed by Napa Therapeutics (hereinafter referred to as "Napa"), a joint venture established by Juvenescence, the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, and Insilico Medicine, aims to selectively modulate NAD+ metabolic levels for the treatment of age-related diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.Based on breakthrough research in NAD+ metabolism, Napa is leveraging Insilico Medicine's drug development platform to accelerate the development of this drug.

NAD+ is an essential coenzyme in the body, utilized as a substrate by various key enzymes, including SIRTs, PARPs, CD38/CD157, etc. Among these, CD38 is one of the primary NAD+-consuming enzymes within cells. CD38 is widely expressed on immune cells, and its expression increases during aging and under various pathological conditions, including metabolic, autoimmune, and inflammatory diseases. Research has shown that CD38 is considered one of the main drivers of the decline in NAD+ levels.

A reduction in NAD+ levels leads to decreased DNA repair capacity, further exacerbating DNA damage and its accumulation. The decline in NAD+ is also a major cause of many age-related diseases and cancers. Studies show that increasing NAD+ levels has the potential to improve aging and treat age-related diseases, while inhibiting CD38 activity becomes a potential method to increase NAD+ levels.

According to information published on Napa's official website, inhibiting CD38 activity can not only extend healthy lifespan but has also shown efficacy in various disease models, including insulin resistance, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibrosis.

In addition to the products under research,Juvenescence and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging's joint venture, BHB Therapeutics, have advanced a ketone body dietary supplement called Cognitive Switch to the market launch stage.。

Ketone bodies are the products of fat breakdown in the liver, including acetoacetate (AcAc), beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and acetone. When the human body does not have enough sugar or glucose to meet energy demands, ketone bodies are produced to serve as metabolic energy substances.

BHB Therapeutics Research Team Discovers that β-Hydroxybutyrate, a Metabolic Ketone Body Produced During Fasting or Exercise, Helps Improve the Body's Ability to Handle Stress and Enhances Cognitive Function; Long-Term Ketogenic Diet Extends Healthspan in Research Models.BHB Launches New C8 Ketone Diester Powder Supplement – Cognitive Switch, Aimed at Increasing Ketone Levels in the Blood to Improve Brain Health, Enhance Attention, and Boost Mental Clarity。

According to the "2022-2023 Global and China Anti-Aging Industry Development and Consumer Demand Research Report" released by iiMedia Research, the global anti-aging market size grew from USD 139.5 billion in 2015 to USD 216 billion in 2021. It is projected that the global anti-aging market will maintain a high growth rate in the future, with predictions indicating that it will exceed USD 300 billion by 2025.

This $100 billion anti-aging market has attracted more than 30 companies to enter.According to incomplete statistics from the VCBeat database, from January 2022 to September 2023, more than 30 companies in the anti-aging sector received financing, with a total financing amount exceeding 25 billion yuan.Among them, tech giants, leading enterprises, and super-rich individuals have also entered the market by establishing companies and making investments to participate in the development of the anti-aging industry. Their involvement has further driven the application of new technologies such as AI in the research and development of anti-aging drugs, accelerating the launch of innovative products and the progress of the industry.

For example, in 2013, Google founded the biopharmaceutical company Calico Life Sciences to advance research related to aging and death. In 2016, Mark Zuckerberg invested $3 billion to establish the BioHub research institute, hoping to map the human "cell atlas" and find ways to extend human lifespan. In 2022, Altos Labs, an anti-aging company established just one year prior, received $3 billion in angel funding. Its investors include Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and former richest person in the world, as well as Israeli billionaire Yuri Milner.

Although many companies have entered the market, people's understanding of how cells, organs, and organisms age remains incomplete, and there are still no approved drugs specifically targeting anti-aging. However, in the future, with deeper research into aging and the advancement of technology, anti-aging companies will accelerate breakthroughs in development challenges and create safe and effective innovative therapies.

References:

1.'Extraordinary' Breakthroughs In Anti-Aging Research 'Will Happen Faster Than People Think'