CAMBRIDGE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--clock.bio, a longevity biotech developing novel regenerative medicines leveraging the natural ability of human pluripotent stem cells to prevent and treat age-related diseases, today announced it has launched out of stealth after reaching proof-of-concept with $4M in funding. The company’s immediate scientific objective is to decode all rejuvenation programs present in human cells, to build an atlas of disease and rejuvenation targets for clinical translation.
“We have a bold mission of extending human healthspan by 20 years based on biomarkers of aging in a Phase 3 trial by the end of this decade. Embryonic stem cells hold the key to unlocking rejuvenation biology,” said Mark Kotter, Founder, clock.bio. “We believe that a comprehensive understanding of all relevant repair processes is the best starting point for designing regenerative and healthspan increasing treatments.”
clock.bio aims to extend and improve quality of life by reversing the harmful effects of time in our cells, harnessing the regenerative capabilities of human pluripotent stem cells. The company has developed an aging model that force-ages human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and triggers their self-rejuvenation mechanism. Unbiased CRISPR screens on large samples of these cells allow for the identification of gene candidates that are causally relevant for cell rejuvenation. The company’s strategy includes proprietary aging-interventions for iPSCs, unbiased screens for rejuvenation biology, identification and validation of rejuvenation targets and therapeutic lead prioritization and translation into clinical applications.
Markus Gstöttner will be joining clock.bio as CEO. He co-founded Meatable, a cultured meat company that uses iPSC and opti-ox technologies, which he started with Mark Kotter and others. Building on this cooperation, Markus will join the company to drive clock.bio’s mission of finding new treatments for age-related diseases. Markus is currently EIR at BlueYard Capital, with a prior background in public service for the Austrian government, management consulting at McKinsey, and development economics (LSE/J-PAL).
“Somatic cells age but cannot rejuvenate. Pluripotent stem cells are the only cells in the human body that can rejuvenate. Our unique approach is to force-age human iPSCs and trigger their self-rejuvenation mechanism. Human aging is a complex process that is difficult to model in cell culture. clock.bio’s model delivers 'aging in a dish,’ where unbiased CRISPR screens reveal the genes that cause aging/rejuvenation and thus uncover drivers,” said Markus Gstoettner, incoming CEO at clock.bio.
clock.bio is on track to decode the biology of human rejuvenation across the entire genome in 12 months. The result will be a comprehensive atlas of disease and rejuvenation targets for clinical translation. Its vision is to use this technology to enable a comprehensive decoding of rejuvenation biology, to create novel treatment approaches.
Read the white paper written by Mark Kotter, Scientific Founder, clock.bio and Koby Baranes, Ph.D., Co-founder, for an overview of the current state of rejuvenation biology – a field that has the potential to address nearly unlimited opportunities and unmet clinical needs.
About clock.bio
clock.bio aims to extend and improve quality of life by reversing the harmful effects of time in our cells, harnessing the regenerative capabilities of human pluripotent stem cells. The company’s vision is to increase human healthspan by developing novel treatments that can prevent and treat age-related diseases by decoding the rejuvenation programs present in human cells. clock.bio is structured as a partnership of scientists and operators bound together by a shared outlook on ethics. Our belief is that rejuvenation treatments need to be accessible to everyone, everywhere. For more information, visit www.clock.bio.
