A new pill being tested could halt dementia progression and reverse the brain’s biological age by a decade, according to its developers.
The treatment, called RTR242, works by reviving the brain’s natural cleaning system to clear harmful protein clumps that build up with age.
Such clumps are linked to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Lewy body dementia.
Retro Biosciences, the company behind the tablet, plans phase one clinical trials in Australia, with the first patient expected to receive treatment by the end of 2025.
The firm is backed by Sam Altman, a leading figure in artificial intelligence.
Joe Betts-LaCroix, chief executive of Retro Biosciences, said: “Curing cancer would add about three years to life expectancy, and curing heart disease about four.
“Adding ten years of healthy lifespan to the adult population will be an even greater impact — one of the greatest achievements in the history of healthcare.”
The pill targets autophagy – the body’s internal recycling system that breaks down and removes waste.
This process can be triggered by fasting but slows with age, allowing proteins such as amyloid-beta and tau to accumulate faster than they can be cleared.
In healthy brains these proteins are normally removed, but in degenerative diseases the process becomes impaired or overwhelmed, allowing proteins to spread and damage nerve cells.
Unlike recently approved Alzheimer’s drugs such as Leqembi and Kisunla, which target amyloid plaques to slow symptoms, RTR242 aims to restart the entire cleaning system and restore cell function.
Retro Biosciences says the pill focuses on cells that are still alive but dysfunctional because they are clogged with misfolded proteins.
By restarting autophagy, the process that normally clears this waste, the treatment could help restore cell function and prevent further death.
As people age, genes controlling autophagy become less active.
Toxic proteins in conditions such as Alzheimer’s can clog the machinery itself, creating a cycle of accumulation that eventually leads to system failure.
Retro Biosciences aims to “reset some aspect of our biology back to essentially a younger age,” said Betts-LaCroix.
Other projects include a stem cell therapy for leukaemia and another targeting central nervous system diseases.
The success of the Australian trial is crucial, as the company needs positive data to secure US$1bn in Series A funding for larger studies.
That sum would position Retro alongside other players in the longevity field, such as Jeff Bezos’s Altos Labs, which has raised more than US$3bn from technology investors.
The company says its goal is not only to extend lifespan but to preserve health and vitality into old age, reducing the period of decline.
