The company, which largely remains in stealth mode, has set itself a mission of increasing the human lifespan by a decade.
Retro Biosciences, a US-based company focused on the cellular drivers of aging, has emerged with $180m in funding from undisclosed investors.
The company was co-founded by Sheng Ding, who holds appointments at Gladstone Institutes, University of California (UC), San Francisco, Tsinghua University and Global Health Drug Discovery Institute.
Retro remains in stealth mode – it made its launch announcement on Twitter rather than through a traditional press release – but its website notes that it will aim to increase the healthy human lifespan by a decade.
The company has three programmes in its pipeline, focused on cellular reprogramming, autophagy and plasma-inspired therapeutics. Its ambition is to create therapeutics that can prevent multiple diseases.
Retro looks to use the $180m to progress through initial proof-of-concept studies, specifically using the money to invest in single-cell multi-omics, machine learning-powered computational biology and lab automation.
Thierry Heles
Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).
