clock.bio raises $5.3m funding for ‘atlas of rejuvenation factors’ to slow ageing
clock.bio, the healthspan biotech which has identified more than 100 genes that jointly constitute an ‘Atlas of Rejuvenation Factors’, has raised $5.3million in seed funding.
The round was led by LocalGlobe, with participation from BlueYard Capital, Onsight Ventures and biotech entrepreneur Jonathan Milner.
Working with human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), clock.bio has developed a proprietary ageing model that can force stem cells to age, faithfully recreating the known cellular hallmarks of ageing. While all somatic cells irreversibly age, stem cells have the unique ability to turn back the biological clock. clock.bio’s intervention triggers this self-rejuvenation mechanism, whereby iPSCs repair these hallmarks and turn them to being young and healthy.
Located at the Milner Therapeutics Institute at the University of Cambridge, clock.bio has set out to decode this rejuvenation mechanism, understand which genes regulate this process, and translate the resulting insights to clinical applications.
Running a genome-wide CRISPR screen, with single-cell RNA-sequencing of more than 3 million cells that generated 20 terabytes of data, clock.bio has been able to start unraveling this “rejuvenation mechanism”. The company is structured as a partnership of scientists and operators bound together by a shared ethical outlook.
Though incorporated in 2020, clock.bio remained in stealth mode until 2023 after reaching proof-of-concept, which brought with it $4m in funding.
“Embryonic stem cells hold the key to unlocking rejuvenation biology,” said co-founder and chairman Mark Kotter at launch. “We believe that a comprehensive understanding of all relevant repair processes is the best starting point for designing regenerative and healthspan increasing treatments.”
The $5.3m seed funding will enable clock.bio to develop its atlas of rejuvenation factors and will also enable next steps in validation and target prioritisation – Dr Kotter says clock.bio has “a bold mission of extending human healthspan by 20 years based on biomarkers of ageing in a Phase 3 trial by the end of this decade”.
“We’re excited to support clock.bio, whose approach provides a unique, high-throughput and rapid way to investigate the biology of rejuvenation,” said Ferdi Sigona, partner at London-based seed-stage venture capital fund LocalGlobe.
“The company’s atlas holds the potential to open up several new routes to treating age-related diseases. We’re committed to advancing these discoveries into clinical applications that could turn out to be transformative.”
The company has expanded its team through several key hires, including the appointment of CEO Markus Gstöttner and CTO Rodrigo Santos. The team will now focus on developing its findings and “identifying the right partners to initiate clinical trials”.
The company will deepen its focus on validating the role of somatic cells, analysing the pathways at work, and mapping them to specific disease indications.
“Our vision is to extend human healthspan by several years, in line with growing longevity,” said Markus. “Our approach decodes an existing part of human biology, which makes us confident the findings will be translatable. Running CRISPR screens across the full human genome constitutes an unbiased, comprehensive methodology, which now gives us more than one shot on target.
“We are thrilled to have reached this first major milestone with the support of our investors.”
