The Longevity Vision Fund (LVF) is a venture capital fund investing in growth stages of longevity-focused companies. The fund has grown its portfolio to 18 companies with a sector focus on therapeutic platforms and AI-enabled health tech. Notable investments include Tessera Therapeutics, Biolinq, and LyGenesis. Sergey Young, the founding partner of LVF, invests in longevity because he believes that the combination of science and technology can accelerate drug development, treat previously untreatable diseases, and potentially even slow down or reverse aging. LVF’s investment strategy allows them to invest in validated scientific concepts with viable business models and a clear path to FDA approvals, as well as IPOs. Young is most excited about gene therapy and editing, and organ and tissue regeneration. In addition, he believes that education on the science of aging and longevity medicine needs to improve to attract more investment capital and talent to the field. Young also shares his personal longevity regime that includes prevention, quitting bad habits, proper nutrition, staying active, and proper sleep and a positive mindset.
Meet the investor: Sergey Young
Sergey Young is the founding partner of the Longevity Vision Fund (LVF), a $100 million venture capital fund that focuses on investing in growth stages. LVF has grown its portfolio to 18 companies, with a sector focus on therapeutic platforms and AI-enabled health tech.
LVF’s therapeutic platforms target the underlying causes of aging, such as gene therapy and editing, organ and tissue regeneration. On the other hand, LVF’s AI-enabled health tech supports healthy life extension in general, including AI in drug discovery, MedTech, and early-stage diagnostics.
The Longevity Vision Fund’s notable investments include Tessera Therapeutics, Biolinq, and LyGenesis. Tessera Therapeutics pioneers gene writing, which is a new category of genome engineering technology designed to cure nearly every genetic disease. Biolinq, on the other hand, is a leading wearable biosensor platform that continuously measures blood biochemistry without coming into contact with blood. Meanwhile, LyGenesis is an organ regeneration company that uses patients’ own lymph nodes as bioreactors to regrow functioning organs within the body.
Sergey Young invests in longevity because he believes that the combination of science and technology can accelerate drug development, treat previously untreatable diseases, and potentially even slow down or reverse aging. The LVF team aims to be the first movers in the field of longevity, helping to advance life extension innovations and investments at a much bigger scale than before. They have a differentiated and de-risked investment strategy that allows them to invest in validated scientific concepts with viable business models and a clear path to FDA approvals, as well as IPOs.
Young is most excited about gene therapy and editing. While gene therapy was initially targeted to rare diseases for proof of concept, rare diseases combined are not that rare, with more than 300 million people affected. Today, therapeutic applications are moving to more widespread chronic diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which account for more than 50% of deaths over the age of 50.
Overall, the Longevity Vision Fund’s focus on longevity investing and their investment strategy has enabled them to grow their portfolio and invest in groundbreaking technologies that have the potential to change the world.
Areas of longevity with high potential
There are a few areas of longevity that show high potential and promise for the future. Firstly, organ and tissue regeneration is an exciting area of research where organs will be bio-printed or grown inside patients’ bodies in the near future. This could help treat a range of life-threatening conditions such as kidney and liver diseases, which represent over 80% of all organ transplantation procedures.
Secondly, AI drug discovery is another exciting area that is speeding up the process of designing new drugs from several years to just a few months. Insilico Medicine, a portfolio company of the Longevity Vision Fund, has proven that its AI platform can design and validate a new drug candidate in under two months, a process that could take big pharma companies 2-3 years without the use of such technology.
Sergey Young’s views on longevity
If Sergey Young could change one thing about the longevity industry, it would be the lack of education on the science of aging. Medical universities do not broadly teach the science of aging, resulting in a lack of talent in this subject matter. Young believes that more scientists and medical professionals specializing in the biology of aging and longevity medicine would have a positive impact on the healthcare system overall, policies recognizing aging as a disease, innovation, and attracting more investment capital to the field.
Young’s personal longevity regime is divided into five ‘buckets’ that are part of his pro-bono corporate longevity program – Longevity @ Work. The program advises and helps implement longevity practices at large corporations and institutions. The five buckets include prevention, quitting bad habits, proper nutrition, staying active, and proper sleep and a positive mindset.
Don’t miss interesting posts on Famousbio
