PALO ALTO, Calif.– Gero, a biotechnology company focused on aging and chronic diseases, has closed $6M in a Series A extension round. This funding round positions Gero to continue internal drug development programs, grow its scientific team to boost platform technology development, and expand its US presence.
The round was led by Melnichek Investments, a Cyprus-based VC firm that seeks to improve the quality of human lives by funding and supporting promising, potentially high-impact, machine-learning startups, with the participation of VitaDAO and Leonid Lozner (co-founder NYSE: EPAM).
By applying cutting-edge generative AI tools to analyze real-world longitudinal human health data, Gero is dedicated to finding novel cures for age-related diseases. Its goal is to unravel the mysteries behind human aging and halt the aging process.
“The large health model that we have trained is instrumental in the discovery of therapies targeting aging and age-related diseases, both in-house and via collaborations with pharmaceutical companies,” said Peter Fedichev, Gero co-founder and CEO. “Thanks to this recent funding from Melnichek Investments, coupled with their expertise in modern AI through backing many successful companies, we are now well positioned to accelerate our progress.”
Earlier this year, Gero announced a research collaboration with Pfizer and is in discussions with other pharmaceutical companies that are evaluating age-related diseases as a growing market. The large health model developed by Gero was trained to differentiate the specific effects of aging from the effects of diseases to potentially revolutionize genetics-driven drug discovery against most common conditions.
Melnichek Investments saw great potential in Gero’s mission to gain new insights into the drivers of age-related diseases and develop new medicines that treat them. “By targeting the underlying processes of aging, Gero’s therapeutics have the potential to mitigate the burden of age-related illnesses and enhance the quality of life for individuals worldwide,” said founder Yury Melnichek. “Moreover, as populations age and healthcare costs escalate, Gero’s research and development efforts offer a ray of hope for more effective and sustainable healthcare solutions.”
AI technology has become a powerful ally in the therapeutic design toolset. Age-related diseases are complicated to unravel and advances will rely heavily on an understanding of extremely large data sets — far beyond the capabilities of human researchers. Gero’s work is showing the importance of that realization and the solutions that are possible,” said Eleanor Davies, steward of the Longevity Science Working Group at VitaDAO, a participant in the round.
Gero is at the forefront of a growing field of medical research that suggests that aging is not an inevitable part of human existence but rather a treatable condition that can be manipulated, slowed, or even stopped using modern technology. In recent years, headlines have been made by the launch of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos-backed Altos Labs, Google parent company Alphabet-backed Calico Life Sciences, and others. The UK-based research firm Longevity.Technology estimates investment in the field reached $5.2 billion in 2022 and projects that 2023 may be even bigger.
