Zoe Biosciences is developing drugs to treat aging and age-related diseases

In 2015, Zoe’s Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Douglas Vaughan, discovered an Amish community in Indiana that ages slower. These “delayed agers” harbor a null mutation for the gene that codes for the protein, PAI-1. PAI-1 is known for its role as the main inhibitor of the fibrinolytic system. However, we now know that PAI-1 also drives senescence and addresses all nine Hallmarks of Aging. Amish carriers of this mutation live ten years longer on average with fewer chronic diseases. Zoe is developing a therapeutic drug platform inspired by these effects ("The Amish Longevity Platform"), hoping to provide patients with more years of healthy life.