Co-founder & CSO at @Junevity, a biotech developing siRNA therapeutics for longevity based on nearly a decade of my research
PhD in Cellular Aging @UCSF
Junevity co-founder @robcahill10 will be presenting on February 25 at the @Biocom Global Partnering & Investor Conference at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Join us to learn more about our platform and growing pipeline.
"By altering gene expression using the transcription factors we identified, old fibroblasts behaved as if they were younger and improved the health of old mice."
- Hao Li, PhD, UCSF professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, and co-founder at @junevity
Tissue-specific cellular reset is one of the most promising paths for longevity therapeutics
Thanks @bryan_johnson for highlighting @JanineSengstack ‘s research which we’ve progressed into therapeutic candidates at @junevity
By altering gene expression in cells that repair tissue, researchers noted improved metabolism & glucose tolerance in aging mice. The findings open up new avenues to understand & potentially reverse aging-related diseases, @UCSF’s @JanineSengstack says. https://t.co/JzvYyRChpn
New study suggests siRNA approach could reverse age-related cellular decline without triggering dedifferentiation or cancer-related pathways.
https://t.co/Z1efODRMMu
#longevity#biotech#siRNA#reprogramming#rejuvenation
In today's episode of the Free Radicals podcast, @EricDai_BioE and I hosted Dr. @JanineSengstack & @robcahill10 , co-founders of @junevity . They are on a mission to extend lifespan and healthspan by combining AI and large scale omics data with genetic medicines known as “siRNAs”. Their cellular reset platform promises to create medicines that can reset each of your organs back to a healthy and youthful state.
This year, Junevity successfully restored "18-year-old metabolism" in animal models allowing mice on a high-fat diet to lose fat while retaining muscle. This candidate therapy may become the first known drug to rejuvenate metabolism. They just announced that they doubled their seed round funding up to $20M to advance this work into human clinical trials, which means we might see their first rejuvenating medicine in the clinic as soon as the second half of next year.
0:00 Intro
2:29 Junevity’s Cell Reset Platform
3:57 The science behind the platform
8:34 Rob’s transition from exited tech founder to biology student
12:59 What makes for good co-founder relationships
16:12 Why right now is the moment for longevity biotech
18:05 Black box AI vs traditional biology
23:21 Advantages of siRNAs for cell reset
32:32 Junevity’s secret sauce
36:09 The primary challenge in all preclinical work today
40:16 siRNAs for obesity
49:04 Timing for achieving longevity escape velocity
55:26 The Ozempic or ChatGPT moment for longevity
1:02:54 Bottlenecks to accelerating longevity
1:07:31 What’s next for Junevity
We’re excited to announce expanded Seed funding. This will help us advance JUN_01 through IND-enabling studies and into the clinic for type 2 diabetes and obesity.
This could be the first siRNA cell reprogramming candidate brought to human trials.
JUN_01 has demonstrated robust weight loss, improved insulin sensitivity, and glucose reduction in preclinical studies, with a twice-yearly dosing potential. We look forwarding to first-in-human trials.
Longevity biotech is gearing up to deliver medicines that will capture the world’s imagination
Thanks to @Stifel for including @junevity as a leader in cell reprogramming
𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗜𝗡 𝗚𝗘𝗡: Junevity co-founders @JanineSengstack & @robcahill10 share a foundational perspective on why transcription factors, once dismissed as “undruggable” and “too risky,” are now within reach thanks to advances in siRNA, omics, and AI/ML. @GENbio
I'm hiring a Bioinformatics Data Scientist at @junevity to develop new therapeutics for longevity-related diseases.
Reach out if you like transcription factors, building new ML pipelines for bio, and longer/healthier lives.
This is personal to me. Five years ago, my mom fell and broke her hip. Before that, my godfather and aunt were both diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
In 2020 I decided to go all in on finding new treatments for aging. I studied bioinformatics at @JohnsHopkins , did mouse brain research with @Reza_Abbassi 's lab at @UCSF , read every paper and met every longevity professor I could find.
In early 2023 I met UCSF professor Hao Li and his intrepid PhD student @JanineSengstack . They built a new platform to find unexplored drug targets for longevity. Recent breakthroughs in genomics, AI and siRNA made this possible.
In June 2023, we created a new company @junevity the same week Janine graduated from her PhD, to bring her innovations to patients.
We raised a $10M seed round and are full speed ahead towards creating amazing new medicines.
Check out an exclusive look at what we're building @junevity covered by @endpts@RLCscienceboss –– we're creating therapeutics for longer lifespan and healthspan by resetting cell health