Last Week in Longevity #6 - $ 312M raised + the 1st blockbuster longevity drug
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$ 312M raised across 6 deals (âď¸ +61% vs. US$ 194M across 8 deals last week)
Odyssey Therapeutics â US$ 213M (Series D) | Boston, USA
What they do: Builds precision small-molecule therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, advancing multiple clinical and preclinical programs.
Why it matters: A high-capitalised, late-stage attempt to target the âchronic inflammationâ hallmark of aging safely and durably.
Investors: Dimension Capital, Jeito Capital, Lightspeed, TPG Life Sciences, Wedbush, Affinity Asset Advisors, and existing investors
Valuation: (unknown)
Diana Health â US$ 55M (Series C) | New York, USA
What they do: Builds modern womenâs health clinics integrated with hospitals, offering services across gynecology, maternity care, menopause care, as well as annual checkups, mental health and nutrition and wellness coaching.
Why it matters: Diana Health tackles a structural blind spot: womenâs health across the lifespan.
Investors: Norwest Venture Partners (lead), .406 Ventures, LRVHealth, AlleyCorp
Valuation: (unknown)
Alchemab Therapeutics â US$ 32M (Series A extension) | Cambridge, UK
What they do: Their platform uses AI and large patient-derived antibody databases to identify naturally occurring protective auto-antibodies from people who are resilient to disease. They just started human trials with their first antibody candidate.
Why it matters: Alchemab is a longevity company in disguise. Itâs positioned as an antibody biotech, but the core thesis (understand why some people age healthily and bottle it as medicine) is exactly what the longevity field needs.
Investors: Ono Venture Investment, RA Capital, SV Health Investors, DCVC Bio, Lightstone Ventures; strategic investment from Eli Lilly
Valuation: (unknown)
Cellvie â US$ 5M (Seed/Extension) | Zurich, Switzerland
What they do: Pioneering mitochondria transplantation therapy: delivering functional mitochondria into patientsâ cells to restore energy production, initially for organ transplants and ischemia-related injuries.
Why it matters: Mitochondrial dysfunction drives both acute and age-related diseases. Therapeutic transplantation could become a whole new treatment category.
Investors: Taiho Ventures, Kizoo Technology Capital and Beiersdorf Venture Capital
Valuation: (unknown)
Meela â US$ 3.5M (Seed) | New York, USA
What they do: Launched a personalised AI voice companion for seniors that combats loneliness and social isolation through scheduled phone calls.
Why it matters: Loneliness is a major risk factor for morbidity and early mortality in older adults, with impacts comparable to smoking. Meela scales companionship and early detection of health concerns without requiring new devices, potentially enhancing both emotional well-being and preventive care in aging populations.
Investors: Bain Capital Ventures (BCV)
Valuation: (unknown)
OpenHealth â US$ 3M (Seed) | Berlin, Germany
What they do: Centralise, harmonise and interpret fragmented medical lab results using AI, helping clinicians and patients understand health data more clearly and make it actionable.
Why it matters: A core bottleneck in longevity adoption is âactionable biomarker feedback.â Could plug into longevity clinics, digital health platforms, or insurers focused on prevention.
Investors: Ascension Ventures, Oxford Technology Management, angel syndicates
Valuation: (unknown)
đ° Top longevity business news
GLP-1s: The world's first longevity drug?
What happened: At ARDD2025 in Copenhagen, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk framed GLP-1s not only as treatments for diabetes or obesity, but as the first true longevity drugs. Read more here.
Why it matters: Big pharma has historically shied away from making aging a viable drug development target - too broad, too complex, too hard to measure. Rebranding GLP-1s as longevity drugs could signal a turning point, shifting longevity from a niche research sector to a core pillar of pharmaceutical strategy. It also underscores the commercial reality that longevity drugs have blockbuster potential.
Vodka brand opens athletic club
What happened: âFor years, CĂŽroc has been synonymous with nightlife. But nightlife alone doesnât capture where culture is heading. Luxury today is broader, more intentional, and rooted in how people connect. Thatâs why weâve launched The CĂŽroc Athletic Club.â Read more here.
Why it matters: What sounds like an April Foolsâ joke at first glance shows how even luxury alcohol players see âwellnessâ and âactive livingâ as the future of aspirational branding. Longevity is not just about biotech or supplements, it is a cultural movement reshaping consumer behavior.
Can Special Economic Zones (SEZ) accelerate the launch of longevity therapies ?
What happened: Unlimited Bio thinks so. They are operating in the special economic zone of Prospera in Honduras, and are offering gene therapies aimed at tissue rejuvenation to slow or reverse aging. They emphasise bypassing regulatory bottlenecks, speeding up trial timelines, and collecting safety + efficacy data even among healthy individuals - all thanks to the less strict regulations in Prospera. Read more here.
Why it matters: Developing, testing, and proving new therapies safe and effective usually takes 10â15 years. Add the fact that aging itself isnât classified as a disease, making the regulatory pathways even less straightforward, and it is no surprise that both biotech entrepreneurs and prospective patients are seeking ways to expedite these timelines. Nevertheless, SEZs like Prospera, Dubai Healthcare City or Singapore Biopolis do not have a long list of longevity companies to their name, suggesting that regulatory, capital, or infrastructure barriers remain substantial in these locations. Or that patients do not want to sacrifice trust for time.
đ Events & meetups (Europe-only)
(CH) St. Moritz Longevity Forum (Sep 18-21, 2025)
(CH) Longevity Investors Conference (Sep 22-25, 2025)
(UK) Healf Experience (Oct 3-5, 2025)
(CH) Biostasis 2025 (Oct 10-12, 2025)
(LU) Longevity & Biohacking Retreat (Oct-Nov 24-04, 2025)
(CH) Global Longevity Summit (Oct 28-30, 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 Longevity jobs (Europe-only)
Germany:
(Berlin) Expansion Manager @ Circle Health
(Berlin) Automation Associate @ Circle Health
(Berlin) Co-Founder / CXO @ Life Summit
(Berlin) Product Development Manager Longevity @ Sunday Naturals
(Berlin) Founder Associate @ Kalia Lab
(Berlin) Working Student Data Science @ YEARS
(MĂźnchen) Medical Director @ Circle Health
(MĂźnchen) Creative Designer- Video & Performance Design @ MoleQlar
(MĂźnchen) Heilpraktiker @ Longevity Mitosphere Spa
(Dßsseldorf) Ernährungscoach @ Intumind
(Karlsruhe) Medizinische Fachangestellte fĂźr Longevity-Medizin @ belleaesthetics
(Bensheim) Medizinische Fachangestellte Schwerpunkt Longevity @ Caremed²
Rest of Europe:
(London) Project Manager â Longevity Venture Builder Programme @ LSE
(London) Product Manager @ Juniper UK
Keep building the future of longevity - one week at a time.
Fabian
P.S. Want your open positions or events to be featured? Just send them my way by replying to this email.