New Wonder Drug Could Keep Us Young | UK | News
From the Fountain of Youth to the Holy Grail, the struggle to beat aging is almost as old as time.
But now British scientists say they are one step closer after research found a way to prevent necrosis, the uncontrolled cell death that underlies many age-related diseases. If successful, it could signal a new era in medicine in which doctors will not only treat the signs of aging but also target the biological processes that cause it.
Scientists hope that by stopping uncontrolled cell death they will prevent or delay many diseases of old age, including heart failure, liver disease, kidney disease, Parkinson’s, stroke and dementia.
After patenting its experimental drug and completing laboratory studies, British biotechnology company LinkGevity is preparing to test what may be the world’s first drug designed to slow down the aging process. The team is currently awaiting regulatory approval for human trials involving patients with kidney disease. It is hoped these applications, the first real-world test of what the founders call “anti-necrotic therapy”, will begin in the UK, US and Europe within months.
The company is supported by Innovate UK, the UK government’s innovation agency that funds cutting-edge research and development. It also receives support from Horizon Europe, the EU’s main funding program for research and innovation, and the Francis Crick Institute, a world-leading biomedical research center based in London.
LinkGevity’s work has also attracted the attention of NASA and the European and UK Space Agencies, which are studying how microgravity affects human biology.
The company is linked by LinkGevity’s CEO, Dr. Carina Kern and Dr. Carina Kern, sisters who left established careers to pursue the science of longevity. Founded by Carina Kern-Libera.
Dr Kern describes this field as regenerative medicine: “The body is an interconnected network. We are not just targeting a symptom, we are targeting the process that drives aging itself.”
Dr Kern, a former research fellow in diseases associated with aging at University College London, leads LinkGevity’s scientific programme. Ms Kern-Libera, a solicitor who previously worked at the Bank of England, manages business strategy and partnerships.
Together, they have placed their firm at the forefront of efforts to understand how our bodies deteriorate as we age and how to stop it.
“We have never been able to intervene in this type of cell death before,” says Dr Kern. “If we can stop necrosis, we can preserve tissue longer, which could mean healthier, longer lives.”
Every day in the human body, billions of cells die and new ones are renewed. Most follow a safe and orderly process called ‘programmed cell death’, which helps eliminate cancerous cells and promotes healing and development.
Necrosis, on the contrary, is uncontrolled; The cells swell, break down, and release toxic contents that inflame and damage surrounding tissue.
Over time, this “unwanted” and “messy” form of cell death contributes to organ failure, heart disease, dementia, and the general tissue decline associated with aging.
“Necrosis underlies tissue degeneration,” said Serena Kern-Libera. “This is not limited to one disease. It’s something that happens throughout the entire biological system.”
LinkGevity’s research focuses on calcium pathways that trigger necrosis. Its patented compound is designed to block the calcium overload that causes cell membranes to burst and die.
The firm’s first human trial will focus on patients with kidney disease, one of the organs most vulnerable to necrosis and age-related decline. If successful, they hope to use the drug as a broader anti-aging treatment.
Professor Justin Stebbing, a leading cancer and cell death expert at Imperial and Anglia Ruskin University who advises the company, said: “Necrosis sounds like a biology term but it actually means tissue decay.
“If you can prevent this, not only will you look younger, your organs will actually stay younger.”
He added: “No regulator has approved a drug for aging because it is difficult to be clear about what endpoints to use in studies and how to measure it.
“We use the kidney as a model and think we have a good chance of being the first anti-aging drug approved because we understand the mechanism we’re dealing with here and we understand how to stop it.”
NASA believes LinkGevity’s work could also help improve astronauts’ lives.
In space, astronauts lose muscle mass, bone density, and calcium balance; These are changes that reflect the characteristics of accelerated aging. These conditions make astronauts an ideal model for studying tissue degeneration.
Professor Damien Bailey, Chair of the European Space Agency’s Life Sciences Working Group, said: ‘When astronauts return to earth they are treated like patients. “If a drug could make our cells more resilient, it could be a game changer for both space travel and human health on Earth.”
The Cambridge start-up is part of a global race to develop treatments that slow down ageing.
In the United States, billionaire-backed startups such as Altos Labs (funded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos), Retro Biosciences (backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman), and Calico Life Sciences (created by Google parent company Alphabet) are exploring ways to rejuvenate human cells.
British firms are researching cell reprogramming technologies. However, LinkGevity takes a simpler approach; It focuses not on changing genes but on preventing devastating cell death that leads to organ loss, allowing the body’s normal function to renew itself.
Analysts estimate the global longevity market to be worth around £25bn.
