① ‘The Fight Against Aging’ Becomes Established as a Global New Industry

② New Drugs for Aging Unresolved Even by Big Pharma, a ‘Window of Opportunity’ Opens for Korea

③ Samsung’s Anti-Aging Research Was Faster Than Google—Why Did It Fall 13 Years Behind?

④ K-Big Heart, Dreaming of a Korean Version of IMEC

FDA Approves World’s First Rejuvenation Therapy ‘ER-100’ for Clinical Trials

Anti-Aging Biotech Investment Up 56% in Q1... 13 Trillion Won Annually

Big Pharma Including Eli Lilly and Novartis Develop Anti-Aging Targeted Drugs

2026 is considered to be the first year in which aging itself has become a direct target for new drug development. In January, Life Biosciences of the United States 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 patient in March. This marks the first time in history that a drug designed to reverse aging itself has been administered to a human. What was once regarded as the private domain of Silicon Valley billionaires has now been officially incorporated into the global pharmaceutical industry’s R&D pipeline. Aging is no longer confined to academic inquiry; it is being reorganized into a new drug development market attracting massive capital.

According to Longevity Technology, a UK-based longevity industry platform, global anti-aging biotech funding in the first quarter of 2026 reached 3.74 billion dollars (approximately 5.5 trillion won), a 56% increase over the same period last year. The number of deals also rose from 43 to 49. The annual investment is projected to reach 9 billion dollars (about 13.265 trillion won). At the same time that regulatory barriers to clinical entry are beginning to fall, investment capital is rapidly flowing into the sector.

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Anti-aging has already entered the mainstream R&D domain of big pharma. According to the non-profit research group Aging Biotech Info, the cumulative value of publicly announced anti-aging deals by major pharmaceutical companies has exceeded 11 billion dollars (about 16.331 trillion won). The major deal driving this influx of capital is the collaboration agreement between Eli Lilly and Insilico Medicine. In March, the two companies signed a new drug development partnership worth up to 2.75 billion dollars (about 4.1 trillion won). Lilly paid an upfront payment of 115 million dollars (about 170.7 billion won) to secure a global exclusive license for Insilico’s preclinical-stage oral drug candidates. These compounds were identified using an artificial intelligence (AI) platform based on the biology of aging. Novartis has established a new division for aging and regenerative medicine (DARe) and is collaborating with the anti-aging biotech company BioAge in a partnership worth up to 550 million dollars (about 816.4 billion won).

Advances in International Standardization of Aging Biomarkers Including Epigenetic Clocks

Korean Government to Launch Translational Clinical Trials for Anti-Aging and Rejuvenation Regenerative Medicine

Hanmi Pharmaceutical and Medipost Expand R&D on Obesity and Stem Cell-Based Anti-Aging

Agreements are also being reached on clinical tools to measure aging. In 2025, the international journal ‘Journal of Gerontology’ published a list of 14 aging biomarkers identified through a Delphi consensus process by international aging researchers. These included molecular indicators such as IGF-1, GDF-15, hsCRP, and IL-6; functional indicators such as muscle mass, grip strength, and gait speed; and epigenetic clocks such as DunedinPACE. In March 2026, research from Berlin published in ‘Biomarker Research’ reported that the rate of epigenetic aging among these 14 biomarkers was the best predictor of mortality. This means that the initial outline of standard measurement tools for clinical trials is taking shape.

In South Korea, R&D targeting aging itself as a direct therapeutic target has begun simultaneously in both the public and private sectors. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, in its 2026 Healthcare R&D Implementation Plan announced in December last year, introduced ‘Translational Clinical Research for Anti-Aging and Rejuvenation Regenerative Medicine’ as a new project. This six-year translational clinical program aims to reach Phase 1 IND approval. It is the first initiative to designate aging itself—not just its consequences—as a direct target and allocate funding for R&D in cell and gene therapies.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical, a traditional pharmaceutical company and R&D powerhouse, has identified anti-aging as its next growth engine after obesity treatments. The company has focused on recent research showing that glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) class obesity treatments may also delay aging by reducing inflammation and neuroinflammation. This is a similar approach to that of Eli Lilly, which is seeking its next engine of growth in the biology of aging after GLP-1. Hanmi Pharmaceutical is incorporating anti-aging efficacy evaluation items into its clinical protocols for incretin-based drugs and is also developing its own omics-based biological age measurement tools.

Medipost, a biotech company that succeeded in commercializing the world’s first allogeneic stem cell therapy, found clues to a new anti-aging business in its existing umbilical cord blood pipeline. After establishing an anti-aging research team in 2023, the company began verifying the anti-aging effects of umbilical cord blood plasma. According to research recently published in the international journal ‘Rejuvenation Research’, umbilical cord blood plasma was found to significantly reduce the expression of aging-related genes. The company is planning to expand into new businesses targeting skin regeneration and anti-aging using umbilical cord blood-derived components.

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

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Experts predict that the next one to two years will determine the success or failure of the anti-aging field. This is because key clinical results, the scoreboard for early investment recovery, and decisions on the next portfolios by big pharma are all expected to converge within this timeframe. Clinical data will come first. The initial signal from the Phase 1 trial of Life Biosciences’ ER-100 will be available by the end of this year or early next year. IND entry for the Lilly-Insilico candidate, as well as Phase 1 and 2 data from BioAge and Rubedo, are all expected to be released in the same period. The clinical validity of the entire category of aging-targeted drugs will be tested for the first time.

Full-scale Entry into New Drug Development Competition Targeting Aging Itself

Core Clinical Results in the Next 1-2 Years Will Determine the Success of the Anti-Aging Industry

‘Biology of Aging’ Emerges as the Next Growth Axis in Pharma After GLP-1

“Anti-Aging New Drugs: Beyond Potential, Establishing an Industry Category”

The capital markets will also likely demand a scoreboard for returns. The inflow of 5.5 trillion won in the first quarter is expected to simultaneously test the maturity of first-generation biotech series and the milestones of big pharma collaborations. Unity Biotechnology, a first-generation senolytics company, raised 200 million dollars up to Series C but had to wind down its business after clinical failure. The decision-making clocks of big pharma companies are also speeding up. The cumulative revenue from blockbuster drugs expiring by the early 2030s exceeds 300 billion dollars. While the GLP-1 market will grow to 150 billion dollars by 2030, aging biology is effectively the only mega-category candidate for what comes next.

An industry source commented, "New drugs targeting aging have moved beyond the stage of merely proving their potential, and are now at the stage of establishing themselves as a category. Clinical data from the next one to two years will determine the direction of big pharma’s growth axis after GLP-1."