Longevity @Berlin: Europe gains traction
Recap of the Longevity Week & Rejuvenation Start-up Summit
Why Berlin?
For the past two decades, Berlin emerged as a hotbed for start-ups (particularly in tech), thriving in an environment of constant change and a vibrant cultural scene.
Then, think of the Germany-based Forever Healthy Foundation (holding the Rejuvenation Start-up Summit) and founders (such as Emil Kendziorra of Tomorrow Biostasis) who were at the forefront of organising the longevity events I will talk about next. Berlin was an easy choice.
Longevity Week Berlin
Accommodating 21 events and thousands of guests, the Longevity Week Berlin hosted:
Workshops focused on the intersection between longevity and AI, funding models, psychedelics, and others,
Start-up Summit @Google, with presentations ranging from digital health apps tracking your aging and fertility to venture capital (VC) fund intros,
Vitalism Meet-up, for the hardcore supporters of the movement,
Special dinners,
And the well-known Rejuvenation Start-up Summit (RSS).
Who gathered for such events? The expected crew of longevity scientists, entrepreneurs, and investors was complemented by a large number of medical doctors, performance coaches, biohackers, and influencers. This came as no surprise, with quite a few events focused on fitness and actionable strategies for healthspan extension, and a rather European crowd attending them.
To expand on my latter statement: Europe takes a different approach to these topics than the US, with a striking focus on “healthy aging” rather than “longevity”. It is less radical and more risk-averse, from both an entrepreneurial and VC perspective. Less funding is available in general, and that scarce funding goes into longevity clinics, supplements, and other direct measures to prevent disease. So while Europe and the US work towards the same goal (living better, longer), they do so from different ends of the problem.
About the Rejuvenation Start-up Summit 2024
An industry-focused conference, RSS aggregated:
The major longevity media outlets Lifespan.io and Longevity.technology
Two academics leading big research centres on aging biology, Eric Verdin and Brian Kennedy
Longevity clinics, offering personalized package of interventions based on health assessments and regular follow-ups
VC panel – fantastic group of venture capitalists from Apollo Health Ventures, age1, LongeVC, Hevolution, Maximon, and Kizoo Technology Ventures. My only complaint? It wasn't longer.
A plethora of longevity companies:
As we age, our immune system tends to lean more towards causing inflammation. MoglingBio is tackling this by focusing on why our stem cells increasingly turn into a type that promotes inflammation (myeloid) rather than the type that fights infections (lymphoid). By attenuating Cdc42 activity through their new molecules MO-72 and MO-75, they hope to restore HSC cell polarity.
Imagine tiny, safe particles that can stay in your body for a lifetime, helping treat chronic diseases and possibly extending lifespan. Louis Hawthorne talked about these innovative particles, called NaNots, which might also help prevent and treat multiple sclerosis.
The field of senescence encountered two major issues: side effects of 1st gen senolytics, and lack of non-invasive clinical biomarkers to assess senescent cell load. Rockfish Bio tackles both issues, developing 1) 2nd gen senolytics by targeting PLA2 and arachidonic acid signalling, and 2) biomarkers that can measure the impact of senescent cells on our bodies.
From the gene delivery standpoint, Oisin’s Fusogenix Proteo-Lipid Vehicle Platform (PLV) combines the advantages of viral delivery (AAV) and lipid nanoparticles (LNP), bearing low toxicity and broad biodistribution. Two programs are under development, with 1. follistatin for muscle growth and age-related sarcopenia prevention, and 2. fat burning.
Cellbricks discussed whole tissue replacement, based on a light-based multi-material 3D bioprinting technology, ingeniously taking into account the variety of cell types in a tissue and the structural importance of the extracellular matrix. Tissues addressed so far include liver, breast adipose, and vasculature.
Cyclarity Tx had a mind-blowing augmented reality (AR) setup that allowed me to play around with their “cages” (low-toxicity cyclodextrins) and bound cholesterol molecules they cleanse, as if they were right in my hands. Their molecules become particularly interesting in the context of 7KC, a form of cholesterol that accumulates on blood vessel walls. Their lead compound, UDP-003, seems to reverse atherosclerotic changes and plaques, going into clinical trials this year.
The lead candidate developed by Deciduous Therapeutics aims to reduce age-related inflammation and clear senescent cells by activating iNKT cells, with a single-dose proof-of-concept study resulting in reduced fibrosis levels and inflammation, for mice with pulmonary fibrosis.
A drug cocktail of a growth hormone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and metformin was shown to rejuvenate the thymus and, in a trial with old male participants, reduced epigenetic age by 2.5 years. The results of this study are now replicated with a bigger group of males and females, with new data showing enhancements in VO2 max and lactate threshold, in short improving strength and aerobic fitness.
One innovative way to fight against age-related mitochondrial function decline with age is mitochondrial transplantation, leading to chronic inflammation and decreased energy levels. Mitochondrial transfer happens naturally between cells, and clinical trials positively showed ill (autologous) mitochondria can be replaced with healthy ones. Cellvie focuses on kidney transplantation and other indications associated with ischemia/reperfusion injuries. Long story short on how this works, the transplanted mitochondria don't remain functional for long in the “new” cells but trigger the host's mitochondria to change their function.
Comparison with the previous edition
Comparing the October 2022 and May 2024 RSS editions, I’d highlight:
The addition of the Longevity Week Berlin (2024 being the year of its debut) brought in lots more (and more diverse) people who otherwise wouldn’t have attended RSS alone; in general, there was a fast growth in the number of attendees for all events;
There was a general repetition in terms of companies (particularly, as expected, Kizoo portfolio companies due to the overlap between Kizoo and the Forever Healthy Foundation); as the plans are for the conference to occur yearly from now on – and 12 months isn’t terribly long when it comes to research – some diversity/changes will be needed;
Accelerationist groups (LBF and Vitalism) received stands and held presentations throughout the week;
The conference was (still) majorly sponsored by European companies promoting supplements/general healthy aging & preventative measures.
Conclusion
Approaches to longevity are varied, and you can situate yourself on a gradient, from optimising your health to fighting aging as the cause of all unwanted disease and death. Whatever you believe in will shape how you act and the communities you are surrounded by, but everybody converges in places such as RSS.
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