LongeVC invests in longevity startup Rubedo Life Sciences
Founded in California in 2018 by Marco Quarta and Mark Gallop, Rubedo Life Sciences has developed a drug-discovery platform called Alembiс. The platform allowed the team to engineer small molecules that target cells driving chronic age-related diseases. These molecules are specific potential drug targets and can be further developed into therapeutics for age-related diseases, such as pulmonary, dermatological, oncological, neurodegenerative, fibrotic, and other chronic diseases.
The startup will use the investment to advance the development of a therapy (RLS-1496 ) that targets pathological cells in chronic atopic dermatitis and chronic psoriasis. Rubedo is also developing additional therapies targeting unhealthy cells in pulmonary diseases with significant unmet medical needs, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic liver diseases, neuromusculoskeletal diseases, and cancer.
LongeVC is a venture company with offices in Riga and Lugano (Switzerland). It was established in 2016 by Garri Zmudze, Sergey Jakimov, and Ilya Suharenko. A €35M fund backs startups at the early and seed stages across the US and Europe.
UPD: Skincare company and skin researcher Beiersdorf also participated in the investment round. Beiersdorf backed the startup through its Oscar and Paul corporate fund. The partnership between companies will force the development of new products that address skin aging.
Rubedo is working on novel compounds that specifically targeting cellular aging. These compounds have senolytic and anti-inflammatory properties, which can help prevent aging of the skin and, in the future, might be a part of Beiersdorf's cosmetic skin care formulations.
As part of the partnership, Beiersdorf will conduct studies and assessments of the compounds. In the case of successful studies and the effectiveness of Rubedo's invention, the startup will have the right to receive milestones and royalty payments.
