AI-powered drug discovery startup leverages theory that identifies key triggers driving aging and age-related diseases.
Healthspan-focused biotech LinkGevity revealed has been selected for the prestigious KQ Labs Programme, delivered by the Francis Crick Institute. The program provides equity investment and access to a global network of scientific expertise, selecting 10 startups annually through a rigorous evaluation process.
Founded by sisters Dr Carina Kern and Serena Kern-Libera, LinkGevity is an AI-driven drug discovery company focused on addressing age-related diseases and extending healthspan. The company’s mission is rooted in the belief that aging can be addressed at its biological source.
The company’s approach is built on Kern’s own Blueprint Theory of Aging, which identifies molecular pathways that drive aging and age-related diseases. According to the theory, these pathways are the molecular source of “destructive cascades underlying multiple age-related conditions.”
The Blueprint theory forms the basis of the LinkGevity’s computational approach, using AI to construct detailed maps that reveal the biological triggers of aging. By leveraging semantic processing and advanced data analysis, the company identifies therapeutic targets and predicts disease risk.
LinkGevity’s flagship development is a first-in-class “anti-necrotic” therapeutic. Necrosis, the uncontrolled death of cells and tissues, is linked to accelerated aging and chronic diseases, and has also presented significant challenges in medical and scientific fields such as bioengineering and organ preservation. The company’s therapeutic aims to inhibit necrosis, thereby enhancing cellular resilience and addressing critical barriers in treating conditions like acute kidney disease. LinkGevity plans to launch its first clinical trial targeting kidney-related tissue degeneration and aging later this year, with potential applications expanding to other age-related conditions.
The company’s anti-necrotic program has received a Horizon Europe grant from the European Union and funding from the UK government. It has also been selected for the NASA/Microsoft Space-Health Program, based on its potential to mitigate accelerated aging and tissue degeneration in astronauts. Beyond clinical applications, LinkGevity is also exploring partnerships to broaden the therapeutic’s reach into areas like tissue engineering and organ preservation.
Based at the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, LinkGevity benefits from its co-founders’ complementary expertise – Kern completed her PhD at University College London’s Institute of Healthy Ageing before spending three years as a research fellow at UCL, while Kern-Libera brings strategic leadership from her background in law and public finance.
Speaking about LinkGevity’s selection to the KQ Labs Programme, Kern, the company’s CEO, said: “This programme will be pivotal to our plans, which include initiating a clinical trial for kidney disease, the 9th leading cause of death globally according to the WHO. What is additionally exciting is that the kidney provides an accelerated aging model to validate this drug as a candidate to treat aging more broadly – paving the way for a potentially landmark trial.”
“Building on the momentum from our successful inclusion in the NASA/Microsoft Space-H programme – where we were selected for the potential of our drug to alleviate accelerated aging in astronauts – being part of the wider Francis Crick Institute ecosystem will help propel our research,” added Kern-Libera, LinkGevity’s COO.
