Last Week in Longevity #10 - $899M raised + Singapore goes longevity
Your weekly business digest of everything that happened in longevity.
đ Hi, I am Fabian, and welcome to my newsletter Last Week in Longevity. Every week, I track where the money, talent, and ideas are moving in the longevity business.
đ¸ Closed funding rounds
US$ 899M raised across 6 deals (âď¸ +41% vs. US$ 637M across 4 deals last week)
Kailera Therapeutics â US$600M (Series B) | Waltham, USA
Category: 2 - Longevity-aligned disease modification
What they do: Late-stage GLP-1/GIP injectable (KAI-9531) and oral GLP-1 program for obesity.
Why it matters: We all know: GLP-1s are currently being framed as the first real longevity drug, even though regulation isnât there yet.
Investors: Bain Capital (led; PE unit)
Valuation: Unknown
Expedition Therapeutics â US$165M (Series A) | San Francisco, USA
Category: 2 - Longevity-aligned disease modification
What they do: Next-gen DPP1 inhibitor (EXPD-101) for COPD and other neutrophil-driven diseases; gearing up for Phase 2.
Why it matters: COPD is a top 5 global killer, strongly age-skewed; oral DPP1 with better profile could reduce exacerbations and disability in older adults.
Investors: Co-led by Sofinnova Investments & Novo Holdings; joined by Forbion, KKRâs Dawn Biopharma, Adage, Balyasny, Logos Capital, Sanofi Ventures, existing BVF Partners, Venrock HCP.
Valuation: Unknown.
NanoPhoria Bioscience â âŹ83.5M (Series A) | Milan, Italy
Category: 2 - Longevity-aligned disease modification
What they do: Peptide NP-MP1 delivered via nano-in-micro lung-to-heart system to improve contractility in HFrEF.
Why it matters: Heart failure prevalence and mortality explode with age; platform that restores contractility (vs only slowing decline) could extend healthy cardiac function.
Investors: XGEN Venture (lead), Sofinnova Partners, CDP Venture Capital, Panakès Partners.
Valuation: Unknown.
Affinia Therapeutics â US$40M (Series C) | Waltham, USA
Category: 2 - Longevity-aligned disease modification
What they do: AAV gene therapies; lead AFTX-201 for BAG3 dilated cardiomyopathy.
Why it matters: Cardiovascular failure is a prime limiter of healthspan. A one-time gene therapy restoring BAG3 and cardiac function, if it translates clinically, could materially extend functional lifespan in affected adults.
Investors: Led by NEA; Eli Lilly (new); existing Alexandria Venture Investments, Atlas Venture, Avidity Partners, F-Prime, GV, Mass General Brigham Ventures, Perceptive.
Valuation: Unknown
Kneu Health â US$5.6M (Seed) | London & Oxford, UK
Category: 3 - Longevity enablers
What they do: Smartphone-based digital biomarkers (voice, motor, cognition) to detect/track neurodegeneration; FDA-cleared tech, large Parkinsonâs/dementia dataset.
Why it matters: Continuous, low-friction monitoring enables earlier detection & intervention across Parkinsonâs/dementiaâkey levers for preserving healthspan.
Investors: Oxford Science Enterprises & Cedars-Sinai (co-leads), Social Impact Enterprises, JIMCO, GK Goh Ventures, SXSW London.
Valuation: Unknown.
Kihealth â US$5M (Seed) | St. Augustine, USA
Category: 3 - Longevity enablers
What they do: β-cell apoptosis liquid-biopsy diagnostic to catch diabetes earlier and guide therapy.
Why it matters: Diabetes risk explodes with age; a true pre-symptomatic marker could bend metabolic trajectories and reduce multi-organ aging burden.
Investors: Not disclosed
Valuation: Unknown
đ° Top longevity business news
Singapore launches new national trial center for healthy longevity
What happened:
The Singapore government announced the creation of a Healthy Longevity Translational Research Center, focused on testing and validating longevity interventions in clinical settings. Read more here.Why it matters:
This is a geopolitical milestone: few countries have established state-backed longevity infrastructure with such a clear focus on clinical trials rather than academic research alone. It could make Singapore one of the most important global hubs for longevity medicine, similar to what Basel is for pharma.
Such centralized clinical infrastructure can de-risk early-stage companies and accelerate regulatory acceptance of aging-targeted interventions.
Partnership to launch peptide therapeutics for womenâs health
What happened: Telehealth platform Wisp and Vesalius Longevity Labs announced a partnership to develop peptide-based therapeutics aimed at womenâs health and aging, with a focus on hormonal health, metabolic resilience, and perimenopause. Read more here.
Why it matters: Women are currently underrepresented in longevity trials and biotech innovation â this is one of the first peptide-centric longevity partnerships targeting womenâs health specifically. Peptides represent a fast-moving, lower regulatory barrier segment with real consumer demand (HGH mimetics, metabolic peptides). This move could accelerate mainstream adoption of longevity therapeutics in consumer telehealth channels, a trend similar to the GLP-1 explosion but focused on hormonal and metabolic aging in women.
Strava eyes IPO as Gen Z ditches dating apps for running clubs
What happened: Strava, the fitness-tracking and social running app, is preparing for a public listing, leveraging surging adoption by younger users and doubling its user base to ~50 million monthly active users. Read more here.
Why it matters: It signals the monetisation maturation of consumer health & fitness apps. Strava claims over $180 million in subscription revenue. A successful IPO would attract large institutional capital into consumer wellness/behaviour change ecosystems, accelerating consolidation and possibly fueling M&A in adjacent longevity domains (wearables, health coaching, digital therapeutics).
đ Events & meetups (Europe-only)
(LU) Longevity & Biohacking Retreat (Oct-Nov 24-04, 2025)
(CH) Global Longevity Summit (Oct 28-30, 2025)
(FR) Tech for Longevity 2025 (Nov 25-26, 2025)
(ES) 4th Longevity World Forum (Feb 18-20, 2026)
(CH) SIP Longevity Retreat (Apr 20-24, 2026)
(PT) 4th Global Longevity Med Summit (May 6-7, 2026)
(DE) LIFE Summit (May 29-30, 2026)
(IE) Longevity Summit Dublin (Jun 24-26, 2026)
(NL) HLTH Europe (Jun 15-18, 2026)
(CZ) 8th World Aging & Rejuvenation Conference (Jun 18-19, 2026)
(AT) 2nd World Congress on Future of Aging & Rejuvenation Science (Jul 20-21, 2026)
(DE) POLLY Longevity Festival (Aug 21-23, 2026)
đź New Longevity jobs (Europe-only)
đ To see the full list of all Longevity jobs, visit our Job Board.
Keep building the future of longevity - one week at a time.
Fabian
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