{"id":141936,"date":"2025-09-14T06:12:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T06:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/141936\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T06:12:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T06:12:18","slug":"keeping-up-with-the-longevity-gene-therapies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/141936\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping up with the longevity gene therapies"},"content":{"rendered":"

How a \u2018special economic zone\u2019 is enabling one company to offer longevity-focused gene therapies to clients, including Khlo\u00e9 Kardashian. <\/p>\n

The recent revelation that Khlo\u00e9 Kardashian has received a gene therapy purported to promote tissue rejuvenation<\/a> came as something of a surprise to many. The celebrity influencer received the capillary-boosting VEGF treatment from regenerative medicine specialist Dr Adeel Khan at his Eterna Health<\/a> clinic in Mexico.<\/p>\n

The therapy, which is claimed to help combat the age-related loss of vasculature in tissues and organs, was provided by Unlimited Bio<\/a>, which operates out of Pr\u00f3spera<\/a>, an autonomous special economic zone in Honduras designed to foster rapid biomedical innovation. The company says it is on a mission to conduct 100 clinical trials of genetic preventive therapies within 10 years, using the regulatory structures of Pr\u00f3spera to enable faster approvals and streamlined processes.<\/p>\n

While controversial, many in longevity believe in the potential of special economic zones to shorten development cycles, allowing more rapid iteration and clinical validation of therapies designed to improve healthspan.<\/p>\n

Longevity.Technology: Following an investment in Prospera<\/a> earlier this year, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, said: \u201cWhere freedom thrives, societies flourish.\u201d This is the kind of viewpoint that underpins the idea of special economic zones \u2013 places where research and clinical trials can theoretically be conducted more efficiently, and where people can make informed choices to take therapies that have not yet been approved by regulators. The idea is catching on \u2013 recent developments in a number of US states<\/a> including Montana, Utah and Florida, demonstrate a growing interest in accelerating access to cutting edge treatments, particularly those with potential healthspan and longevity benefits. To learn more about Unlimited Bio and its mission, we sat down with co-founder and CEO Ivan Morgunov.<\/p>\n

A serial entrepreneur, Morgunov founded Unlimited Bio last year, along with biomedical scientist Anna Vakhrusheva, the company\u2019s chief scientific officer and biomedical engineer Vladimir Leshko who manages operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 100% mission-driven to solve aging \u2013 I believe it\u2019s humanity\u2019s main priority and the most important problem to work on,\u201d he says. \u201cHaving previously founded a couple of biotech companies, I quickly came to realize that the main bottleneck is over-regulation. I believe there are many technologies ready to benefit humanity, but regulation prevents progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bypassing bottlenecks <\/p>\n

Then Morgunov learned about the concept of special economic zones, which essentially allow companies to benefit from regulatory flexibility, bypassing many of the \u201cbottlenecks\u201d he claims are experienced by traditional biotech startups in more heavily regulated jurisdictions. Initially skeptical, he decided to see for himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn early 2024, I joined Vitalia, a two-month pop-up city, and ended up finding a like-minded community,\u201d he recalls. \u201cThere, surrounded by other founders, investors, entrepreneurs, and scientists, Anna and I built our team. We formally founded the company in April 2024 with initial funding from Infinita VC [a Prospera-based fund] plus several angel investors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Members of the Unlimited Bio team at RAADFest <\/p>\n

The founding mission of Unlimited Bio is ambitious: run 100 clinical trials within 10 years, building multiple gene therapies under one umbrella and combining them to combat the effects of aging.<\/p>\n

\u201cAging is extremely complex \u2013 single-drug or single-target approaches have failed for decades,\u201d says Morgunov. \u201cWe believe combining dozens of therapies is the way to achieve meaningful impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

First step: VEGF <\/p>\n

The first therapy to be offered by Unlimited Bio is a gene therapy delivered via plasmid, which delivers the genetic instructions for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) into cells to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels (angiogenesis).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to start with a simple, well-established gene therapy,\u201d says Morgunov. \u201cThis therapy was first approved in Russia and Ukraine in 2011 for lower limb ischemia, and more than 10,000 patients have received it safely over 15 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

So why did Unlimited Bio choose a gene therapy approved for people with ischemia as its first longevity offering?<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, not everything that works for a disease will have benefits in healthy people, but VEGF is a unique case,\u201d says Morgunov, pointing out that overexpressing VEGF has been shown to improve healthy aging and lifespan in mice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cCapillaries are essential for oxygen and nutrient delivery,\u201d he adds. \u201cWith age, capillary density declines, which may contribute to sarcopenia and other age-related conditions. By enhancing capillarization, VEGF essentially upgrades our body\u2019s \u2018delivery system\u2019 \u2013 adding more roads for nutrients and oxygen to reach cells. That\u2019s why we believe it has strong longevity potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlimited Bio licensed the VEGF therapy for use in Prospera in preventive indications, and within six months of incorporation, had its first product on the market. While only a small number of people have received the treatment to date, Morgunov says the Kardashian effect is already being seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince several well-known influencers received the therapy, interest has grown rapidly,\u201d says Morgunov, who doesn\u2019t reveal the cost of the procedure. \u201cI can say it is the most affordable preventive gene therapy worldwide \u2013 comparable to stem cell treatments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Safety and data \u2018top priorities\u2019 <\/p>\n

Addressing the very obvious elephant in the room, Morgunov says that ensuring therapeutic safety is even more important for companies operating in special economic zones.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny adverse event here could set back not only us, but the entire longevity field,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s why we are beginning with therapies that already have long safety records in patients, and then adapt them for healthy individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, Morgunov stressed that collecting data on healthy individuals is a \u201ctop priority\u201d for the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lack of real-world interventional data in longevity \u2013 and even AI can\u2019t help us without it,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re offering patients discounts if they return for follow-up measurements, and we plan to implement placebo-controlled protocols as well. My expectation is that 10\u201320% of patients will actively contribute to data collection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next step: combining therapies <\/p>\n

The next key step for Unlimited Bio is to offer a muscle-growth follistatin gene therapy, which it then plans to combine with its VEGF treatment in a clinical trial targeting people aged 45 and older.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis would be the first gene therapy combo trial in Prospera, and we hope that recruitment will begin soon,\u201d says Morgunov. \u201cLonger term, in addition to AAV Follistatin, we plan to develop AAV-based Klotho and BDNF therapies, but we\u2019re modality-agnostic, so we\u2019re open to different preventive approaches, not just gene therapies. We\u2019re aiming to impact physical, cognitive, and immune function, as well as aesthetics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the complex nature of aging means that Morgunov doesn\u2019t believe any single approach can ever \u201csolve\u201d it on its own.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I do believe we can build a minimum viable product for aging therapies: a safe, effective cocktail of multiple interventions that produces a clear, visible impact,\u201d he says. \u201cOur goal is to create an \u2018aha moment\u2019 for humanity \u2013 like ChatGPT did for AI, or Ozempic did for biohacking. Once people see it\u2019s possible to slow or reverse aspects of aging, governments and corporations will enter the race, accelerating progress even further.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photographs courtesy of Unlimited Bio