Proceeds will support advancement of the company’s pipeline and proprietary platform for identifying and developing therapies to treat diseases of aging
Company announces Chief Medical Officer as it prepares to enter clinic in 2021 with lead Phase 2-ready therapeutic compounds
RICHMOND, Calif., Dec. 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioAge Labs, Inc., a biotechnology company developing medicines to treat aging and aging-related diseases, today announced that it has raised $90 million in an oversubscribed Series C financing. The raise was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and serial entrepreneur, Elad Gil, and included new investors Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, AARP Foundation (through the RockCreek Impact Fund) and Phi-X Capital, the fund of genomics entrepreneur Mostafa Ronaghi, among others. Current investors including Caffeinated Capital, Redpoint Ventures, PEAR Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures, Felicis Ventures, and others also participated.
“These additional funds will support advancement of our systems biology and data-driven platform to map the key pathways that drive human aging and our pipeline of medicines that target these pathways to reverse or eradicate diseases and extend healthspan,” said Kristen Fortney, PhD, co-founder and chief executive officer. “We look forward to advancing our first platform-derived therapies, BGE-117 and BGE-175 into clinical trials in the first half of 2021.”
“BioAge is at the forefront of understanding scientific drivers of aging with its unique and cutting-edge systems biology platform. We believe their approach has the potential to unlock the underlying pathologies of many diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, and frailty, that disproportionately affect older populations,” said Vijay Pande, PhD, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
“Drugs that target aging have potential to treat several morbid diseases and improve the lives of older adults. BioAge has built a proprietary engine to analyze molecular signatures in aging populations, and to advance data-driven hypotheses to identify existing clinical-stage drugs that are ready for Phase 2 efficacy trials in age-related diseases. I’m excited to work with them as they scale their platform and develop multiple therapies to improve the health of older individuals,” said Elad Gil, PhD, entrepreneur and investor.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to build and develop a diversified portfolio of therapies that increase healthspan and lifespan, augment BioAge’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven approach to map the molecular pathways that impact human longevity, and further expand capabilities to test drug candidates in predictive models of human diseases of aging.
Separately, the company announced that Paul Rubin, M.D. will lead its clinical development efforts as chief medical officer. Dr. Rubin, a veteran biopharmaceutical drug developer, brings extensive experience from early discovery, late stage development and ultimate drug approvals across a wide variety of therapeutic areas in global geographies. In former roles heading development at Sepracor, GSK and Abbott, Dr. Rubin has been responsible for the clinical development and approval of more than ten products. Prior to BioAge, he was most recently executive vice president, Research and Development for MiRagen and held a similar role at Xoma, two biotechnology companies. Dr. Rubin earned his M.D. at Rush Medical College, Chicago.
Dr. Rubin commented, “I am thrilled to be leading the BioAge clinical development team at this exciting time. Our platform provides a unique opportunity to identify targets relevant to the aging process and diseases associated with this process. Diseases common to older patients are often ignored despite their direct association with morbidity, mortality and decreased quality of life. The first two drugs from our pipeline are ready to begin Phase 2 trials in indications targeting serious conditions in elderly populations that presently have no good therapeutic options. A key aspect of our strategy is to initiate efficient human clinical trials that will demonstrate that our drugs can address age-related deficiencies in acute conditions, which may expedite approval and serve as a gateway to the treatment of chronic diseases, resulting in healthy aging.”
About the BioAge Platform
The BioAge platform identifies key drug targets that will impact aging. The company’s proprietary human aging cohorts have blood samples collected up to 45 years ago, with participant -omics data that is tied to extensive medical follow-up records including detailed future healthspan, lifespan and disease outcomes. BioAge has built a systems biology and AI platform that leverages these rich datasets to identify the molecular drivers of age-related pathology. BioAge’s pipeline of therapies targeting these key pathways will address the significant unmet medical needs of an aging population.
About BioAge
BioAge is a privately-held biotechnology company developing proprietary drugs to treat aging and aging- related diseases. Since its founding in 2015, the Company has raised $127 million in venture capital funding to back its AI-driven approach to map the molecular pathways that impact human longevity. BioAge’s mission is to develop a pipeline of therapeutic assets that increase healthspan and lifespan. For additional information about BioAge, visit the company’s website at www.bioagelabs.com.
Source: BioAge Labs, Inc.
Contact Information:
BioAge | peng@bioagelabs.com
Media | swheeler@wheelhouselsa.com