Investors Are Pouring Money Into Startups That Are Trying to Find a Cure for Aging

A CB Insights report indicates that funding for aging and longevity startups, currently valued at $850 million, has far exceeded previous years, according to Business Insider . This coincides with new scientific insights into human aging and possible ways of targeting different aspects of this process to retard the progression of certain diseases. Among the firms receiving record amounts of venture capital this year is Samumed, which raised $438 million in its latest funding round. Samumed aims to use stem cells to regenerate hair, skin, bones, and joints. Meanwhile, the Longevity Fund is investing in Mayo Clinic spinoff Unity Biotechnology, which in June began human trials of senolytics medications designed to eradicate pre-cancerous cells that accrue in aged and damaged tissue. Novartis and Celgene also are investing in aging research, with the former having recently conducted a study on a drug similar to rapamycin, which caused subjects' rate of respiratory infections to decline by more than 65 percent during winter cold and flu season. Medications based on this study are being developed by Novartis' resTORbio spinoff. Celgene's Celularity spinoff, meanwhile, raised $250 million in February. It plans to use placental stem cells to promote longevity and treat conditions such as cancer and autoimmune disease.