Last Week in Longevity #14 - $459M raised + Biotech Funding Winter
Your weekly business digest of everything that happened in longevity.
👋 Hi, I am Fabian, and welcome to my newsletter Last Week in Longevity. Every week, I track where the money, talent, and ideas are moving in the longevity business.
💸 Closed funding rounds
US$ 459.4M raised across 7 deals (↗️ +138% vs. US$ 193M across 5 deals last week)
Direct Longevity Interventions (Category 1)
(none)
Longevity-Aligned Disease Modification (Category 2)
Braveheart Bio – US$ 185M (Series A) | USA
What they do: Cardiac myosin inhibitor BHB-1893 for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), in-licensed from Hengrui; aims for best-in-class efficacy/simplicity vs. Camzyos.
Why it matters: HCM is a serious, often age-diagnosed heart disease; better, safer myosin inhibition could reduce heart-failure progression and events, directly extending healthy life for a sizable population.
Investors: Round includes Andreessen Horowitz, Forbion, OrbiMed and others
Valuation: unknown
AAVantgarde Bio – US$ 141M (Series B) | Milan, Italy
What they do: AAV gene therapy addressing root genetic causes of Stargardt disease (ABCA4) and Usher 1B retinitis pigmentosa.
Why it matters: Vision loss is a major driver of disability in aging. Disease-modifying gene therapy that preserves or restores sight materially improves functional healthspan and independence.
Investors: Co-led by Schroders Capital, Atlas Venture, and Forbion.
Valuation: unknown.
Azalea Therapeutics – US$ 82M (Seed + Series A) | Berkeley, USA
What they do: In-vivo precision genome engineering that directly creates CAR-T and other cell therapies inside the patient, combining EDV delivery + AAV templates.
Why it matters: If in-vivo CAR-T works safely, it could massively expand access to curative-intent cell therapies in cancer/autoimmunity with fewer toxic conditioning steps, no ex-vivo manufacturing, and potentially more durable disease control, improving late-life healthspan.
Investors: Led by Third Rock Ventures, with participation from RA Capital, Yosemite, Sozo Ventures, and selected angels.
Valuation: unknown
Onchilles Pharma – US$ 25M (Series A1) | San Diego, USA
What they do: ELANE-pathway cytotoxic biologic N17350 that selectively kills tumors and activates immunity; moving to first-in-human.
Why it matters: If the ELANE approach translates in clinic, it promises broad, tumor-selective killing with immune memory, potentially improving survival and lowering toxicity vs. conventional chemo.
Investors: Invivium Capital, Kennedy Lewis Investment Management, UCM Ventures; existing: LYZZ Capital Advisors, Lincoln Park Capital.
Valuation: unknown
Accipiter Biosciences – US$ 12.7M (Seed) | Seattle, USA
What they do: De-novo designed multifunctional protein therapeutics (agonists & multispecifics) for immunology/oncology; deals with Pfizer (>$330M milestones) & Kite.
Why it matters: Complex, multimechanistic biologics could improve efficacy/safety in hard diseases (autoimmune, cancer), unlocking disease control that preserves late-life function.
Investors: Co-led by Takeda & Flying Fish Partners; with Columbus Venture Partners, Cercano Capital, Washington Research Foundation, Alexandria, Pack Ventures, Argonautic Ventures.
Valuation: unknown
LambdaVision – US$ 7M (Seed) | Hartford, USA
What they do: Protein-based artificial retina manufactured in microgravity (ISS) to restore vision in RP/AMD.
Why it matters: A restorative implant for degenerative retinal disease could return core function for older adults, preventing the cascade of decline (falls, isolation, cognitive impact) that follows vision loss.
Investors: Co-led by Seven Seven Six an Aurelia Foundry Fund
Valuation: unknown
Longevity Enablers (Category 3)
Hepta Bio – US$ 6.7M (Seed) | Foster City, USA
What they do: Liquid biopsy platform for chronic disease detection/monitoring (beyond oncology) via blood-based molecular signals.
Why it matters: Earlier, lower-friction detection across chronic conditions is the purest longevity enabler. It shifts care to prevention and course-correction before organ damage accumulates.
Investors: Led by Felicis Ventures and Illumina Ventures
Valuation: unknown
📰 Top longevity business news
Arena Bioworks shuts down, claiming ‘biotech funding winter’
What happened:
Arena Bioworks, a once-promising biotech collective that aimed to accelerate drug discovery across aging-related diseases, announced its closure, citing deteriorating macroeconomic conditions and reduced venture appetite for preclinical risk. Read more here.Why it matters:
This marks one of the first high-profile collapses (US$ 500M in funding from high-profile investors) of a platform biotech in the post-2021 funding reset. It underscores the contraction in early-stage capital for longevity-related therapeutics and highlights a shift from “moonshot biology” toward leaner, translational models. For investors, it signals an industry-wide reprioritisation toward capital efficiency and nearer-term clinical validation.
🗓 Events & meetups (Europe-only)
(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)
(UK) The Longevity Show (Jun 26-27, 2026)
(AT) 2nd World Congress on Future of Aging & Rejuvenation Science (Jul 20-21, 2026)
(DE) POLLY Longevity Festival (Aug 21-23, 2026)
💼 New Longevity jobs (Europe-only)
(London/remote) Paid Social Lead @ Healf
👉 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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