The continued desire to increase one’s life expectancy and quality of life is prompting some of the teams working within the leading top anti-aging stocks in the life sciences space to have an increased interest in the continued pursuit of technologies and therapies that are aimed at slowing down the aging process and improving/increasing health preservation.
A recent report from Research and Markets suggests that the global anti-aging market will be worth an astounding $79.5 billion by 2024 which is up from $50.2 billion in 2018; this market is seeing growth at a compound annual growth rate of 7.98% during the forecast period.
A study from the Business of Anti-Aging Science notes that “Age-related diseases are the leading causes of death and health-care costs. Reducing the rate of aging would have enormous medical and financial benefits.” It continues, “Some therapeutic approaches — direct-to-consumer nutraceuticals and trial-tested scientific diets — do not require (US Food and Drug Administration) approval, which can significantly reduce their time to market.”
The following anti-aging stocks are listed in descending order of market cap with the numbers and figures current for June 22, 2020 with the overview being adapted from what was provided by the Investing News Network:
Agenus (NASDAQ: AGEN)
WIth a market cap of $717.31 million and a share price of $4.23 the immunotherapy company is developing a pipeline of cancer immunotherapy drug candidates which includes their experimental checkpoint inhibitor AGEN1181. Early stage clinical trial reports suggest that AGEN1181 has produced a 70% clinical benefit in patients with various solid tumors, and the company intends to fast track the development as a treatment for various forms of solid tumors including advanced skin and lung cancer.
Frequency Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FREQ)
With a market cap of $711.13 million and a share price of $22.93 the biotechnology is developing treatments related to hearing loss which includes their lead product candidate FX-322 which hones in on sensorineural hearing loss. An ongoing Phase 2a trial is expected to report topline results in the second half of 2020, and the biotech intends to submit an investigational new drug application in the second half of 2021 for multiple sclerosis.
Geron (NASDAQ:GERN)
With a market cap of $602.11 million and a share price of $1.94 the late stage anti-aging clinical biopharmaceutical company is focused on the development and potential commercialization of a first in class telomerase inhibitor called “Imetelstat” which is to be used in hematologic myeloid malignancies. A Phase 3 clinical trial is planned for refractory myelofibrosis, and the company recently gave an update on an ongoing IMerge Phase 3 clinical trial in lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes, along with sharing the latest quarterly financial results.
Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX)
With a market cap of $484.09 million and a share price of $2.46 the company is focused on its MultiStem platform, which is a stem cell product aimed at treating neurological, inflammatory, immune, and cardiovascular disease; with the most advanced neurological program in the clinical pipeline being an ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial to treat ischemic stroke. MultiStem is also in preclinical development to treat hemorrhagic stroke, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury. The most advanced cardiovascular program is for myocardial infarction, and in terms of immune and inflammatory diseases the most advanced programs have completed Phase 2 trials in acute respiratory distress syndrome and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Unity Biotechnology (NASDAQ:UBX)
With a market cap of $466.86 million and a share price of $9.50 the biotech has a mission statement of prolonging the human lifespan with the primary goal of slowing down or reversing age related conditions and improving health. The lead product candidate in the pipeline is UBX0101 which has completed a Phase 1 clinical trial for osteoarthritis in the knee, revealing promising results that demonstrated treatment being well tolerated, and there are plans to progress to a Phase 2 trial for the same condition. UBX1967 and UBX1325 are both being tested as treatments for age related disease of the eyes such as macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, and proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Investigational new drug applications are expected to be submitted for both drug candidates during the second half of 2020.
Lineage Cell Therapeutics (NYSEAMERICAN:LCTX)
With a market cap of $148.1 million and a share price of $0.99 the company works in the field of regenerative medicine, human embryonic stem cell technology, and induced pluripotent stem cell technology. The biotech is developing therapies based on stem cell biology that are intended to rebuild cell and tissue function that is lost due to degenerative diseases and injury. The stem cell program OpRegen is in a Phase 2 clinical trial to treat advanced age related macular degeneration; OPC1 is in a Phase 2a clinical trial for acute spinal cord injuries; and VAC2 is in a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
CohBar (NASDAQ:CWBR)
With a market cap of $100.95 million and a share price of $2.34 they are taking a different approach to anti-aging and age related disease than most, this company is focused on research and development of mitochondria based therapeutics, which is an emerging class of drugs, such as a novel group of peptides encoded within the mitochondrial genome that have been shown to regulate metabolism and cell death. Such treatments have enormous widespread potential to target diseases that are related to aging and metabolic dysfunction such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, and central nervous system conditions.
Proteostasis Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTI)
With a market cap of $77.18 million and a share price of $1.48 this biopharmaceutical is focussed on identifying therapies that can restore protein function, as such they are developing small molecule therapeutics to treat disease such as cystic fibrosis which is caused by dysfunctional protein processing. They have formed a partnership with Astellas Pharma (OTC Pink:ALPMY,TSE:4503) to research and identify therapies to target the unfolded protein response pathway.
