Translating Aging

"There is no such thing as ‘a’ senescent cell — just as there is no such thing as ‘a’ cancer cell." Marco Quarta brought that premise to Translating Aging back in 2023. Three years later, the co-founder and CSO of @LifeRubedo returns to the show with the data to back it up: Phase 1b/2a results for RLS-1496, a first-in-class topical GPX4 modulator, with clean safety and significant efficacy signals across four skin indications. In our conversation, Marco also introduces his concept of a new drug class — senoadaptive therapeutics — that clear pathological cells and restore stressed-but-recoverable ones. Plus: why GPX4 modulation could become the next GLP-1. 🎧 • Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bey… • Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/7tkJCs…

When Dr. Nabiha Saklayen (CEO-@CellinoBio) joined us on Episode 13, her core argument was not just that personalized cell therapies were scientifically exciting, but that manufacturing was the real bottleneck. Cellino’s bet was that laser-based, AI-guided cell handling could turn autologous therapies from bespoke lab work into something much closer to an industrial process. Last week, Cellino posted a meaningful translation update: new results from its collaboration with Polyphron, with four iPSC lines from diverse donors manufactured on its platform. For a company built around making autologous cell therapies actually scalable, this is the kind of milestone that matters. That is why the post stood out. It is one thing to talk abstractly about regenerative medicine at scale. It is another to show diverse donor lines moving through a foundry-style system designed for reproducibility. The episode is still a useful listen if you want the original framing for what Cellino was trying to build: not another cell therapy company, but infrastructure for making personalized cell therapies manufacturable. 🎧 Ep 13: • Apple: lnkd.in/g8y4f4YH • Spotify: lnkd.in/gMAMBufM

Anderson Cooper just introduced millions of Americans to two of our earliest guests. Celine Halioua, CEO of Loyal, and Matt Kaeberlein, co-director of The Dog Aging Project, were both featured on 60 Minutes this week — making the case that studying how dogs age could unlock the secrets of human longevity. Here’s a clip: @60minutes/video/7620528741856431373" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">tiktok.com/@60minutes/vid… Translating Aging was there at the beginning, with some of our first episodes back in 2021: • Ep 3 with Celine: how she left academic biology to build the first company developing FDA-regulated drugs to extend healthy lifespan in dogs — and why dogs are a uniquely powerful model for aging science. 🎧 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tra… • Ep 4 with Matt: why the Dog Aging Project, with 50,000+ enrolled dogs, may be one of the most important longitudinal aging studies running anywhere. 🎧 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tra… Both episodes are still sharp. If 60 Minutes got you curious, these are your next listens!

We're pleased to share additional positive interim Phase 1 data for BGE-102, our potent, orally available, brain-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor — showing potential best-in-class hsCRP reduction in patients with elevated cardiovascular risk. Read the release: ir.bioagelabs.com/news-releases/… Key findings from our first MAD cohort in obese participants with elevated hsCRP: • Rapid and profound reduction in hsCRP, a widely used marker of inflammatory cardiovascular risk: 86% median reduction at Day 14 • 93% of participants achieved hsCRP levels < 2 mg/L, the clinical threshold for reduced cardiovascular risk • Broad anti-inflammatory effects: Significant reductions in IL-6 and fibrinogen, key independent markers of cardiovascular risk • Well tolerated: Favorable safety profile with no dose-limiting toxicities Path forward: Full Phase 1 data, including additional multiple ascending dose (MAD) cohorts in participants with obesity and elevated hsCRP, anticipated 1H26 Phase 2a study on track to initiate 1H26, with readout anticipated by year-end Aging biology in action: Chronic inflammation is now recognized as a major driver of cardiovascular disease—on par with cholesterol—yet it remains undertreated. NLRP3 is a key driver of age-related inflammation, and BioAge's discovery platform showed that reduced NLRP3 activity is associated with healthy longevity. With the potential to deliver injectable-like inflammation reduction in a convenient oral therapy, BGE-102 could address a significant unmet need in cardiovascular risk management and beyond. We look forward to sharing full Phase 1 results in the first half of this year!

What will it take to turn the science of aging into new medicines that benefit millions of people? BioAge CEO and co-founder @kpfortney sat down with @TIME magazine’s @dmosbergen for an in-depth conversation about why targeting the biology of aging could transform how we treat metabolic disease—and why the field is at an inflection point. The interview, published in TIME’s “Future of Living” series, covers topics including: • 🔬 BioAge’s human-first approach — With decades of health records and biological samples, we can study what's different about people who age well and work backward to find drug targets. • 💊 BGE-102, our lead NLRP3 inhibitor — Now in Phase 1 clinical trials, this once-daily oral therapy targets the chronic inflammation that drives cardiovascular risk as we age. • 🏃 Apelin and the biology of exercise — We're developing drugs that mimic the molecular benefits of physical activity, with potential to help maintain healthy body composition during aging and therapeutic weight loss. • 🤝 Why Big Pharma is leaning in — Our collaborations with Novartis and Lilly reflect growing recognition that aging biology offers a path to preventative medicines that address root causes of chronic disease. "I'm expecting a lot to happen in the next 5 to 10 years," Kristen says. "The growth in the field has been tremendous, so that really bodes well." Read the full interview: time.com/collections/fu…

At next week's Longevity Summit, our host @DoNotGoGently will be moderating (and participating in) a panel on longevity in the media — covering topics from how to separate science from hype, how to leverage popular culture to boost understanding of aging biology, and how to make scientific reporting interesting and accessible to the broadest possible audience.

@satvik_93 @aginginit @aginginit just in case no one has pointed it out yet, there is a fairly bad typo in the word "initiative' at the top of the flyer

Future of Aging Research Mixer 2025 @aginginit signups now open: luma.com/jqx5m2xi

Such a delight to meet so many listeners at @ARDD_Meeting in Copenhagen last week, and learn about the great work they're doing! I still find it hilarious when I get "voice recognized" at parties

"Five scientists in a room don't make a company. Prolonging rodent lives doesn't make a company either." In our latest episode, Sergey Jakimov of LongeVC offers straight talk about what makes a longevity company investable. From his perspective as managing partner of one of Europe's most active longevity funds, Sergey breaks down • why disease-focused approaches beat "curing aging,” • how major pharma partnerships are reshaping the field, and • how the looming patent cliff presents opportunities for longevity biotech. Plus: Sergey shares how his personal journey from rare disease patient to leading investor shapes his vision for accessible longevity medicine. 🎧 Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bio… Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1AjX0G0C9…

@AlexJColville I love the concept, but why display it reverse-sorted by grade?

Introducing the 1st annual pharma aging report card!! The race is on to see who will positively transform humanity and in the process unlock a bigger market than obesity.

How can we translate cutting-edge geroscience into medicines that will benefit humanity? This week's special episode features a live panel from the 25th Bay Area Aging Meeting, where six leading voices across academia, industry, and publishing tackled the critical challenge of moving aging research from bench to bedside. Over a wide-ranging and lively conversation, panelists Janine Sengstack (Junevity), Saul Villeda (UCSF), Jodi Nunnari (Altos Labs), Sebastien Thuault (Nature Aging), Anne Brunet (Stanford), and Nir Barzilai (Einstein) shared their thoughts on the emerging research directions poised for clinical impact, the revolutionary tools enabling precision aging interventions, and the cultural shifts needed to prepare the next generation of translational aging biologists. From the prospects for cellular rejuvenation entering the clinic to the regulatory challenges of targeting aging as an indication, this unscripted discussion offers rare insights from a distinguished group of thought leaders into how the field's most promising discoveries will become tomorrow's therapies. 🎧 Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bio… Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1AjX0G0C9…

Life Bio's therapeutic pipeline will target vision-threatening eye diseases first, but the implications reach far beyond ocular indications. We discuss why major pharma companies can't afford to miss this emerging field—and how cellular rejuvenation could transform medicine.

This week we talk with @M_S_Ringel about how @lifebiosciences is developing therapies based on partial epigenetic reprogramming: a way to reverse cellular aging while preserving cell identity. 🎧 Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bio… Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1AjX0G0C9…

@JanineSengstack @junevity Links to major podcast platforms: • Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tra… • Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1AjX0G0C9…

This week we talk with @JanineSengstack, CSO and co-founder of @Junevity, which uses its RESET platform to identify genes that regulate cellular damage and health, and restores their expression to healthy levels. Episode: player.captivate.fm/episode/188ef7…

Links to major podcast platforms: • Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tra… • Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1AjX0G0C9…

What if we had therapies to extend healthspan and prevent age-related diseases? This week, we talk with @BrackLab, program manager of PROSPR, an ARPA-H initiative building infrastructure for interventions that maintain health during aging. Episode: player.captivate.fm/episode/1f42fa…

@RBioceutics Thank you so much!

@BioAgePodcast I love your podcast…you always have great speakers

@mwjgstoettner @clockbioltd Links to major podcast platforms: • Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tra… • Google Podcasts: podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6L… • Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/1AjX0G0C9…

This week, we talk with @mwjgstoettner, CEO of @clockbioltd, about how his company is working to extend healthspan by understanding and harnessing the natural rejuvenation capabilities of stem cells. Episode: player.captivate.fm/episode/af7845…