Insilico Medicine’s AI-Designed Lung Drug Shows Promise in Aging Markers
Insilico Medicine claims its AI-designed lung drug lowered biological age markers in a trial involving 42 patients. Six independently built proteomic aging clocks agreed that the treated arms appeared younger. However, the authors acknowledge challenges in differentiating between slower aging and drug effects on lung disease itself.
Key Findings:
- Blood samples from 42 patients in a phase 2a study were analyzed using six different proteomic profiling methods.
- All clocks indicated that patients on the drug exhibited younger biological ages compared to placebo groups.
- The most significant effect was observed at week four in the 30mg twice-daily treatment arm, with clocks suggesting a range of 2.7 to 3.5 years of age reduction.
Context and Considerations:
- The study is a secondary analysis, utilizing data from Insilico’s phase 2a trial of rentosertib, a TNIK inhibitor for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is an inflammatory lung disease that impacts blood proteins, making it challenging to distinguish drug effects on aging from improvements in lung function.
- The clocks themselves are valid research tools used to predict mortality and age-related disease risks but are not regulatory endpoints.
- As noted by 2013 Nobel laureate Michael Levitt, the consensus among the six clocks adds credibility to the findings.
Quote:
“More lifetimes than humanity lost in all the wars ever fought… [The drug] should be able to significantly extend the healthy portion of life as well, translating into trillions of dollars in productivity and savings,” said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, founder and co-CEO of Insilico Medicine.