Humans are animals with one of the longest lifespans in the world, yet we are also one that is continuously developing new ways to live longer. While scientists are researching drugs and vaccines, others are experimenting with yoga, fitness, and keto diets. All just to look better, live longer and avoid illnesses.

But is it really possible to hack a natural process such as ageing?

Singapore- and Russia-based GERO, a biotech company developing drugs for complex diseases with a focus on anti-ageing, says that it has recently demonstrated successful results on mice.

In an interview with e27, GERO Founder and Chief Science Officer Peter Fedichev highlights why he thinks it is possible to develop drugs for anti-ageing, its experiment with mice, the race for a successful drug, and the social problems that it can solve.

“Boosting human age span is a very ancient idea,” Fedichev says. “Over the last 100 years, human life on average has increased almost two times. So, in the 1900s, the average lifespan for an individual living in the US was about 40-45 years old but now it is almost 80. So cheating age is not a new idea.”

Fedichev adds that ageing increases the risk of illness in humans and the goal is to find drugs that extend one’s disease-free survival.

The rat race for a cure

GERO is not the only company attempting to find the cure to ageing. Its biggest competitors are two publicly listed companies: Unity Biotechnology and resTORbio —a Novartis spinout.

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The two have already managed to conduct clinical trials on humans, suggesting that certain drugs can rejuvenate the immune system and age in humans. However, their most recent attempts have been unsuccessful.

Outside of the two, there are also other companies continuing the research on anti-ageing drugs on animals. The most promising one is a study published in the journal Cell Reports where researchers have found a way to make worms live five times longer than their average life span.

What makes GERO’s approach different from the rest is the fact that they use human data to form hypothesis whereas other companies are using data from mice then applying it on humans.

But for the time being, studies need to be conducted on animals first as results need to be proven until they move towards the next phase.

“It’s pretty hard to learn from mice. And that’s why I think we should study from humans. Our human-centric approach is a distinct point,” Fedichev opines.

Despite the challenges, the research that GERO conducted has shown promising results. Held in one of the laboratories at the National University of Singapore (NUS), an experiment was conducted on 12 mice in three interventions. Within some time, the mice in the treated group began to show significant results in terms of mobility, immune system, and neuroplasticity.

“We did our experiments on old mice in the labs that were so old that they almost dying of natural diseases, mostly cancer. We treated them with our experimental drugs using injection and were able to extend their life to two months. But more importantly, we noticed many multiple partial improvements like stronger immune function and improved neuroplasticity,” Fedichev further details.

As for the possible side effects of the treatment, the founder says that due to the experiment being conducted on small animals, it is hard to tell what the side effects just yet.

The study that details the result of this experiment will be published in late 2020 or 2021, according to the company.

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The social potential

As a biotech company, there are reasons why GERO chose to set up one of its headquarters in Singapore. First of all, it is due to its ongoing collaboration with the NUS ageing centre led by Professor Brian Kennedy.

The second reason is due to the country’s ageing population problem, and the company’s attempt to solve it.

“The world is now in a demographic transition, which means that there will be more people over 65 than people over 60. Singapore is also not a country which can import many migrants. The problem is that since there are too many old people, it is difficult for this population to sustain themselves,” Fedichev explains.

Despite the challenge, Fedichev stresses that Singapore is the most advanced country in terms of recognising the problem of ageing; he also says that it is perhaps the first government in the world to allow clinical trials for anti-ageing drugs.

This indicates that there is a potential market for the innovation that GERO is building.

Further strengthening its promies, recently, GERO managed to raise US$2.2 million in a Series A funding round from Bulba Ventures (Belarus) and a few undisclosed serial entrepreneurs.

But will there ever be a successfully developed anti-ageing drug in the market? Especially one that is made by a startup in Southeast Asia?

Only time can tell.

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Image Credit: GERO

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