Senolytics are the new therapeutic treatment being developed and making its way to dive into the waters of the anti-aging market standing to possibly disrupt legacy franchises such as the multibillion dollar AbbVie’s Humira and Amgen’s Enbrel.
Analysts at Citi GPS report that biotech companies are investing in the development of senolytics which are a new type of treatment to combat all aging related diseases. These companies include Unity Biotechnology, Siwa Therapeutics, Oisin Biotechnologies, and the Google venture Calico with the first commercially available treatment potentially being ready by 2023 and proof of concept as early as next year.
Alzheimer’s, arthritis, eye disease, CVD, and other age related diseases affect millions of people in the USA alone. Pharmaceutical companies have tried unsuccessfully in the past to develop anti-aging therapeutics, but with new discoveries in the field alongside several published proof of concepts the most recent being published by the Mayo Clinic senolytics has been deemed a viable field which could actually impact age related diseases.
Potential senolytics treatments for aging could unlock cures to a wide range of age related illnesses. If successful senolytics may replace therapeutics catered to specific aging related diseases such as AbbVie’s Humira and Amgen’s Enbrel that have been approved for numerous forms of psoriasis and arthritis, as well as Regeneron’s Eylea and Genetech’s Lucentis which are approved for age related eye diseases. The market for such products is huge, Humira alone is tracked to be a $21 billion drug by 2020.
Senolytics target senescent cells which have been found to be associated with a number old age related diseases including arthritis, fibrosis, retinal degeneration, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease which may be an underlying causes for all of these age related diseases. Senescent cells stop dividing and do not die as normal cells should, having inflammatory effects on other cells within the body.
Senolytics work to flush out senescent cells from the body, eliminating these cells in animal studies has prevented the onset of age related diseases and reversed the effects of aging. Mayo clinic studies have shown that senolytics extended the lifespan of mice by 36%. Safety still needs to be determined in human studies, but senolytics appear to be relatively safe in animal models with little to no side effects other than wound healing was slowed.
