'Drugs to Prevent Aging' Enter Their First Target Year... First Patient Dosed in the US [New Path for Bio, Anti-Aging] ①

Cumulative Big Pharma Investment Surpasses $11 Billion
First Clinical Trial for Epigenetic Reprogramming Begins
Consensus Reached on 14 Aging Biomarkers for Clinical Trials

Editor's NoteAnti-aging is no longer a peripheral discourse in the wellness industry. Global big pharma companies are now directly targeting aging itself as a subject for new drug development, pouring billions of dollars into the field and fundamentally rewriting the rules of the game. Although Korea was among the first to take initial steps, it has since fallen behind due to a lack of early investment, the absence of a central control tower, and fragmented policies. However, there are still opportunities for Korea in terms of data, regenerative medicine, and precision diagnostics infrastructure. The Asia Business Daily examines the current state and future of the global anti-aging industry and explores the path forward for Korea.

① "The Fight Against Aging" Establishes Itself as a Global New Industry

② Anti-Aging Drugs Even Big Pharma Couldn't Solve—A 'Niche' Opens for Korea

③ Samsung's Anti-Aging Research Was Faster Than Google's—Why Is It Now 13 Years Behind?

④ K-BigHeart Aims to Become the Korean Version of IMEC

Getty Images Bank.

2026 is considered the first year in which aging became a direct target for new drug development. In January, U.S.-based Life Biosciences received Investigational New Drug (IND) approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its epigenetic reprogramming therapy, "ER-100," and began dosing the first patients in March. This marks the first time in history that a drug designed to reverse aging itself has been administered to humans. What was once considered the private domain of Silicon Valley billionaires is now an officially recognized research and development (R&D) pipeline in the global pharmaceutical industry. Aging is no longer limited to academic inquiry, but is being reshaped as a new drug development market attracting massive capital.

According to Longevity.Technology, a UK-based longevity industry platform, global anti-aging biotech funding inflows in the first quarter of 2026 reached $3.74 billion (approximately KRW 5.5 trillion), up 56% from the same period a year earlier. The number of deals also rose from 43 to 49. Annual investments are expected to reach $9 billion (about KRW 13.265 trillion). Not only are regulatory doors to clinical trials beginning to open, but investment funds are also pouring in at a rapid pace.

Anti-aging has already entered the mainstream R&D territory of big pharma. According to the nonprofit research organization AgingBiotech.info, the cumulative disclosed deal value by big pharma in the anti-aging sector has surpassed $11 billion (about KRW 16.331 trillion). The major deal driving this capital influx was a collaboration agreement between Eli Lilly and Insilico Medicine. In March, they signed a new drug development partnership worth up to $2.75 billion (about KRW 4.1 trillion). Lilly paid an upfront payment of $115 million (about KRW 170.7 billion) to secure global exclusive rights to Insilico's preclinical oral drug candidate, which was discovered using an artificial intelligence (AI) platform based on the biology of aging. Novartis has established a new Division of Aging and Regenerative Medicine (DARe) and is pursuing a collaboration with the anti-aging biotech company BioAge, potentially worth up to $550 million (about KRW 816.4 billion).

Tools for measuring aging in clinical settings are also beginning to reach consensus. Last year, the Journal of Gerontology published 14 aging biomarkers identified by international aging researchers through a Delphi consensus process. These included molecular markers such as IGF-1, GDF-15, hsCRP, and IL-6, as well as functional metrics like muscle mass, grip strength, walking speed, and epigenetic clocks like the DunedinPACE. In March this year, a Berlin aging study published in Biomarker Research reported that among the 14 biomarkers, epigenetic age acceleration was the strongest predictor of mortality. This signifies that the first outlines for standardized measurement tools for clinical trials are taking shape.

Korea Joins the Anti-Aging Front—Government and Corporates Alike

In Korea, both government and private sectors have begun R&D initiatives directly targeting aging for new drug development. In December last year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare introduced "Translational Clinical Research on Anti-Aging and Rejuvenation Regenerative Medicine" as a new project in its 2026 healthcare R&D implementation plan. This is a six-year translational clinical program aimed at achieving IND approval for Phase 1 clinical trials. It is the first project to directly target aging—not as a consequence of disease but as its own target—by allocating budget to cell and gene therapy R&D.

Hanmi Pharm, a traditional pharmaceutical company and R&D powerhouse, has identified anti-aging as its next growth driver after obesity treatments. They have taken note of the latest research suggesting that GLP-1-class obesity drugs can also delay aging by reducing inflammation and neuroinflammation. This is similar to Lilly's approach in seeking its next engine of growth in the biology of aging after GLP-1. Hanmi is incorporating anti-aging efficacy evaluation items into the clinical protocols for its incretin-based drugs and is independently developing omics-based biological age measurement tools.

Medipost, which became the world's first to commercialize an allogeneic stem cell therapy, has found a clue for anti-aging business expansion in its existing cord blood pipeline. After establishing an anti-aging research team in 2023, the company began verifying the anti-aging effects of cord blood plasma. According to a study published recently in the international journal Rejuvenation Research, cord blood plasma was found to significantly reduce the expression of aging-related genes. Medipost plans to expand into a new business targeting skin regeneration and anti-aging using cord blood-derived components.

Research results confirming the inhibition of skin cell aging and increase of antioxidant enzymes through umbilical cord blood plasma. Medipost

"The Next Two Years: Data, Not Hype, Will Decide the Winner"

Experts predict that the next one to two years will be critical for the success or failure of the anti-aging sector. Key clinical results, early investment returns, and big pharma's next portfolio decisions are all set to converge during this period. Clinical data will emerge first. The first signals from Life Biosciences' ER-100 Phase 1 trial are expected by the end of this year or early next year. IND submissions for Lilly-Insilico's candidate and Phase 1/2 data from BioAge and Rubedo are also anticipated during the same period. For the first time, the clinical validity of the entire aging-targeted drug category will be tested on a global scale.

The capital market will also be looking for returns. The KRW 5.5 trillion inflow in the first quarter will put both the first-generation biotech firms reaching their end of series funding and big pharma collaboration milestones to the test. For instance, Unity Biotechnology, a first-generation senolytics company, raised $200 million up to Series C but eventually shut down after clinical failure. Big pharma's decision-making timeline is accelerating. The cumulative blockbuster revenues set to expire by the early 2030s exceed $300 billion. While the GLP-1 market is expected to reach $150 billion by 2030, after that, aging biology is virtually the only mega-category candidate remaining.

An industry insider commented, "Aging-targeted drugs are no longer at the stage of possibility verification, but are now at the stage of becoming an established category. Clinical data over the next one to two years will determine the direction of big pharma's growth trajectory after GLP-1."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.