The brief
- Debuted in Jan 2022 with $3B, the largest launch funding in biotech, with former GSK research head Hal Barron as CEO.
- Its scientists include Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, Wolf Reik, Manuel Serrano and Steve Horvath; Shinya Yamanaka advises.
- Hired aging-trial veteran Joan Mannick as chief medical officer, a sign of moving to trials; none announced yet.
Technical approach
Partial, not full, reset
Fully switching on the four Yamanaka factors turns adult cells into stem cells. Short pulses seem to undo aging while cells keep their identity.
Measuring biological age
Epigenetic clocks, pioneered by Steve Horvath, estimate age from chemical tags on DNA and show whether a treatment made cells younger.
Cell health beyond factors
Altos also studies cell stress, worn-out cells and repair, hoping for safer, pill-like ways to rejuvenate than gene therapy.
Altos Labs, one program
Updated 1 Dec 2025
Research & demos
- Mar 2022
Long-term partial reprogramming in normal old mice reversed aging markers without tumors.
- Dec 2016paperIn vivo amelioration of age-associated hallmarks by partial reprogramming (Cell) (opens doi.org)
Showed pulsed reprogramming extended life in fast-aging mice; the foundation of Altos.
- Oct 2013
Horvath's epigenetic clock for many tissues, the standard test for rejuvenation claims.
Open technical problems
- Tumors and cells losing identityActive research
Too much reprogramming makes cells forget their job; in mice, leaving the factors on causes tumors and organ failure.
- Reaching every organOpen
Controlling the dose and timing in every tissue of an adult human is far beyond today's gene delivery tools.
- Is epigenetic age causal?Open
It's unclear whether a younger clock reading means better health or just a changed lab marker.
Peers
Company & funding
- Raised
- $3Bdisclosed private rounds
- Last round
- Launch financingJan 2022
- HQ
- US/GB
- Founded
- 2021
| Date | Round | Amount | Post-money | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | Launch financing | $3B | — | — |
Partners & customers
- Partner
Nobel laureate serving as senior scientific advisor.
People
- Hal Barron (opens altoslabs.com)CEO
- Rick Klausner (opens altoslabs.com)Founder and Chief Scientist
- Joan Mannick (opens altoslabs.com)Chief Medical Officer