Ascentage Pharma and UNITY Biotechnology Forge Strategic Alliance to Co-Develop Senolytic Therapies for Global Anti-Aging Market

Ascentage Pharma, which maintains offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Taizhou, announced a collaboration with UNITY Biotechnology, headquartered in San Francisco, USA, to jointly develop novel anti-aging therapeutics based on senolytic therapies.

As part of the collaboration agreement, the two companies also plan to establish a joint venture in China dedicated to the development and commercial promotion of Senolytic Therapies in the country.

UNITY is primarily focused on the research and development of drugs that improve health and delay aging. Backed by ARCH Venture Partners, Venrock, and Yucheng Capital, UNITY has conducted four years of research into elucidating the relationship between cellular senescence and aging. In animal models, it has demonstrated that clearing senescent cells can prevent or reverse age-related diseases, including osteoarthritis, atherosclerosis, glaucoma, and kidney disease. This February, Jan Van Deursen, a molecular biologist at the Mayo Clinic and co-founder of UNITY, published a new study in Nature showing that UNITY’s investigational drug cleared “senescent” cells in mice, extending their average lifespan by approximately 25–35%.

Ascentage Pharma has previously focused primarily on the development of apoptosis-targeted anticancer drugs. Its product pipeline mainly comprises inhibitors of key proteins in the apoptosis pathway, which reactivate apoptotic programs in tumor cells by inhibiting IAP, Bcl-2/Bcl-xL, and MDM2-p53; second- and third-generation inhibitors targeting kinase mutants that emerge during cancer treatment; and inhibitors of epigenetic targets closely associated with oncology therapy. To date, Ascentage has four products in Phase I–II clinical trials in the United States, Australia, and China, with an additional four products under IND review or approval processes in these three regions.

When asked why UNITY partnered with Ascentage Pharma, a company focused on anti-cancer drugs, to develop anti-aging therapies, Dr. Nathaniel David, Founder and CEO of UNITY, stated: “At UNITY, we have demonstrated that cellular senescence is a primary driver of aging and age-related diseases. We evaluated a large portfolio of candidate drugs capable of clearing senescent cells, and Ascentage Pharma’s compounds stood out. This collaboration enables us to leverage Ascentage’s compound library to significantly accelerate drug development, aiming to delay aging by halting or reversing certain age-associated diseases.”

Dr. Nathaniel David also stated, “We chose Ascentage Pharma as our partner in the field of anti-aging not only because of its cutting-edge technology, but also out of consideration for laying out a global market strategy.”

Dr. Yang Dajun, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ascentage Pharma, stated, “As a leading biopharmaceutical company, we have advanced multiple targeted compounds that regulate cellular apoptosis into clinical development. We will continue to strive for excellence in the clinical-stage development of blockbuster targeted anticancer drugs, and we are also delighted to collaborate with UNITY in therapeutic areas beyond oncology to address numerous unmet clinical needs. Each age-related disease holds the potential to spawn an entirely new market worth billions of dollars.”

Although the specific terms were not disclosed, it is understood that Ascentage Pharma will acquire a partial equity stake in UNITY Biotechnology, while UNITY will also make an investment in Ascentage Pharma. Robert Nelsen, Managing Director and Co-founder of ARCH Venture Partners and a member of UNITY’s Board of Directors, will become an observer on Ascentage Pharma’s Board of Directors.