Retro Biosciences

Retro Biosciences designs therapeutics capable of multi-disease prevention by focusing on cellular drivers of aging. The company claims to have a mission to extend its lifespan by 10 years. As of November 2023, Retro Biosciences was working with aging mechanisms, for which interventions have shown robust proofs of concept in mammals and have a potential path to translation to humans. 

It develops programs based on cellular reprogramming, plasma-inspired therapeutics, and autophagy. These programs are claimed to be diversified across mechanisms and development stages.

As of October 2023, it had a molecule in the autophagy program that was planned to enter the clinical stage in 2024. In the plasma program, the company was characterizing and optimizing plasma interventions in preclinical and clinical settings, with the first development candidate expected two years after. In addition, the cellular reprogramming effort is close to fundamental research, and it intends to work toward a clinical proof-of-concept over the next four years. To support these three programs, the company claims to be investing heavily in single-cell multi-omics, machine-learning-based computational biology, and lab automation.

Funding and financials

The company raised USD 180 million in April 2022 from Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI.