Three Most Promising Ageing Therapies — and Their Limits — SkimNews
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- Carlos López-Otín, a biochemistry professor at the University of Oviedo in Spain, led the 2013 "Hallmarks of ageing" paper that the team updated in 2023 to list 12 hallmarks of cellular decline that worsen with age, accelerate when stimulated, and slow with treatment
- Venki Ramakrishnan, a molecular biologist and co-winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, identified three approaches he judges most promising: senolytics that clear zombie senescent cells, stem cell regeneration and cellular reprogramming, and telomerase reactivation to prevent chromosome ends from shortening
- Senolytic drugs target senescent cells that have stopped dividing and secrete inflammatory molecules damaging nearby tissue; non-cancerous cells normally reproduce 40–60 times before entering this state, with natural clearing processes becoming less efficient with age
- Ramakrishnan cautioned that it could take "at least a couple of decades" to create necessary and successful therapeutics from these cutting-edge methods
- Luca Issi, senior biotechnology research analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said healthspan can be materially expanded sooner through better diagnostics, earlier intervention and improved therapies for diseases like cancer and heart disease
- Genetic medicine approvals have so far mostly targeted rare diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy and beta-thalassemia, with Issi noting approvals for more common illnesses — cancer, cardiovascular disease, eye disease — are "around the corner"
- Global demographics sharpen the stakes: the WHO projects the 60-and-older population will reach 2.1 billion by 2050, with China alone expected to have more than 500 million people over 60 by mid-century
Why it matters: The WHO projects 2.1 billion people aged 60 or older by 2050, with China alone expected to top 500 million — a demographic surge colliding with a biotech gold rush targeting the hallmarks of ageing. Investors must separate companies with credible clinical execution from hundreds exploring dozens of compounds, because, as Ramakrishnan warns, viable ageing therapeutics may still be 20 years out.
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