The safest sort of investment into therapeutic development is one made in a part of a field that is well established, producing a small variant of an existing drug, using the well beaten path of small molecule development, targeting a mechanism that is very well understood, and that has extensive safety data associated with it. One could argue that mTOR inhibition is the canonical example of a low risk investment in the longevity field. Like most lower-risk exercises in medical development, the potential gain for patients is modest. mTOR inhibition can produce larger gains in mouse life span than exercise, but doesn't beat calorie restriction.
Still, higher odds of a return on investment tends to far outweigh the size of potential patient benefits in the eyes of conservative investors. This is one of the reasons why progress in medicine is so very incremental. It is perhaps surprising that that the longevity industry exhibits a relatively small investment in mTOR inhibitor development in comparison to, say, the billions directed towards reprogramming approaches, given that the development of partial reprogramming therapies can hardly be described as a low-risk program at the present time.
Hevolution is a Saudi Arabian fund that has for a while now been discussing a $1 billion investment into research and development of longevity-enhancing therapies. There has been some question over how and when the Hevolution leadership will start to deploy meaningful amounts of capital in the longevity industry. To date, they have focused on funding academic research, collectively to a sizable amount. It appears that the fund is now making its first inroads into funding companies, and, judging from the company selected, is taking the conservative, safe approach.
Hevolution Foundation announced its first life science impact investment of $20 million to help Aeovian Pharmaceuticals advance its innovative platform of selective mTORC1 inhibitors which could lead to several promising therapies for disease of aging. This investment - the leading contribution in a $50 million Series A financing extension for Aeovian - has the potential to address major unmet medical needs including TSC refractory epilepsy, neurological diseases, and prevalent diseases of aging.
After careful evaluation of over 200 opportunities, Hevolution selected Aeovian based on the company's success in drug discovery, its expertise in development, the potential for commercialization, and its compelling platform for the discovery of selective mTORC1 inhibitors. Strategic collaborations focused on advancing the healthspan sector are integral to Hevolution's investment approach. As the lead investor, Hevolution is joined in this investment by Apollo Health Ventures, Sofinnova Investments, venBio, Evotec, and b2venture. Hevolution's Chief Investment Officer William Greene, M.D. will also join Aeovian's Board of Directors, bringing over 25 years of leadership experience as a founder, biotechnology executive, investor, and clinician.
This investment underscores Hevolution's commitment to increase the number of safe and effective treatments entering the market, compress the timeline of drug development, using the latest tools and technologies and increase accessibility to therapeutics that extend healthy lifespan. It follows Hevolution's launch of the Breakthrough Innovation Alliance at the Global Healthspan Summit in November 2023. To date, Hevolution has committed more than $250 million in scientific funding to catalyze the healthspan ecosystem.
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