I had just initiated a video call with Joe Betts-LaCroix, the CEO of Retro Biosciences—a longevity startup financially supported by Sam Altman—when I casually mentioned how warm the weather felt. Rather than letting the remark pass, Betts-LaCroix seized this chance to reflect aloud on the invention of air conditioning, marveling at how society once viewed energy and heat as inseparable concepts until technology allowed them to be teased apart. His response revealed a mind inclined to reinterpret the everyday as illustrative of sweeping paradigm shifts.
This inclination is unsurprising for someone whose career identity is defined not by a single role but by an unusually multifaceted set of pursuits. Betts-LaCroix is simultaneously a trained scientist, an entrepreneur, and the inventor of what was once considered the smallest functional computer in the world. He thrives on disruption, eagerly searching for scientific transformations capable of altering entrenched assumptions. Now, as the guiding figure at Retro Biosciences—an enterprise that could be viewed as Altman’s designated laboratory for reimagining the limits of human longevity—Betts-LaCroix directs his enthusiasm toward the ultimate goal of re-engineering how the human body ages. In much the same way that air conditioning reshaped the experience of a sweltering summer, he hopes to design interventions that decouple aging from deterioration and disease, essentially separating the passage of time from inevitable decline.
Still, dreaming of progress is far easier than bringing it into existence. Retro, launched in 2021 with a substantial $180 million seed investment from Altman, has recently advanced toward a more concrete stage of development. According to Betts-LaCroix, by late 2025 the company anticipates administering its first dose of an investigational compound, provisionally named RTR242, to a clinical trial participant. This drug candidate is designed to combat Alzheimer’s disease by reactivating a biological housekeeping process known as autophagy—a system through which cells break down and recycle damaged or unnecessary components. While autophagy typically functions efficiently in young organisms, it often falters with age, leading to the buildup of dysfunctional proteins and cellular debris. Scientists believe diminished autophagy not only contributes to neurodegenerative diseases but also accelerates broader aspects of aging.
“Inside our cells reside old and often corrupted proteins—mutated, misfolded, or fragmented—that the body struggles to degrade as years accumulate,” Betts-LaCroix explained, highlighting the rationale behind Retro’s approach. “When the recycling machinery stalls, cellular health deteriorates.” By restoring this natural process, Retro aims to clear away what Betts-LaCroix describes as toxic cellular “gunk,” especially within delicate brain tissue, where damage accumulates most critically. This effort is strategically centered in Australia, a country recognized for its relatively streamlined regulations regarding Phase 1 safety studies. Retro has already locked down a trial site, chosen its laboratory partners, and expects to enroll its initial participant before the year concludes.
Securing measurable trial results is also a fundraising necessity. Producing credible clinical data is a prerequisite for scaling into later-stage trials—efforts that often require hundreds of millions of dollars. Retro is openly setting its sights on a billion-dollar Series A raise, which, if successful, would position it alongside the industry’s most heavily funded peer companies, notably Altos Labs. That competitor, backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and a coalition of high-profile tech financiers such as Yuri Milner and venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, has already amassed over $3 billion.
Retro’s leading program is ambitious, yet it is not the company’s only bet. Betts-LaCroix confirmed that RTR242 is one of at least three major therapeutic paths Retro is pursuing, all of which center on the notion of rolling back biological processes to earlier, healthier states. Beyond the Alzheimer’s-targeted pill, Retro is investigating two stem cell–related pipelines: one, designated RTR890, aims to regenerate healthy blood stem cells as a new avenue for treating disorders such as leukemia; the other, RTR888, aspires to use stem cell derivatives to address diseases of the central nervous system. Their overarching mission, continuously reaffirmed by the company, is both bold and precise: to extend the average human lifespan by ten additional years of health and vitality.
Unlike conventional longevity claims that focus on broad increases in life expectancy statistics, Retro’s objective is more qualitative in orientation. The company is not suggesting sweeping jumps in national averages but instead envisioning elderly individuals who maintain sharp cognition, physical strength, and vibrant daily capability right up until their final chapter of life. As Betts-LaCroix emphasizes, adding a decade of thriving, functional years is far more transformative than simply postponing inevitable decline. In comparing strategies, he distinguishes Retro’s approach from current Alzheimer’s treatments, such as Eisai’s Leqembi and Eli Lilly’s Kisunla, both of which primarily target the removal of amyloid plaques. His conviction is that merely slowing degeneration is insufficient; reversing or resetting processes truly promises revolutionary gains. In his words, slowing the clock feels like “weak sauce” compared to genuinely winding it back.
This vision highlights a central tension within the longevity sector at large. Traditional pharmaceutical wisdom dictates a more conservative course: isolate one pathology, devise a targeted compound, demonstrate safety and efficacy, then position the drug as an acquisition-ready asset for established pharmaceutical giants. Yet visionary thinkers in Silicon Valley often lean toward moonshot attempts—gestures of audacity intended to alter the very framework of how aging is approached. Betts-LaCroix seeks to navigate between these poles, acknowledging the need for prudence in clinical execution while still harboring radical aspirations.
Competitors are quick to weigh in on Retro’s choices. Peter Fedichev, a physicist-turned-entrepreneur who founded the rival company Gero, remarked that Retro publicly conveys caution but may quietly foster more ambitious projects. He suggested that, with enough dedication, improvements equivalent to ten years of added longevity can be reached through disciplined lifestyle changes alone; thus, he hopes Retro is pursuing something bolder than its autophagy drug suggests. Betts-LaCroix, however, bristles at such minimization. He contends that adding a full decade of healthy lifespan on a population-wide scale would eclipse the impact of curing cancer or heart disease outright; while eliminating cancer may yield a mere three-year increase in life expectancy, and heart disease approximately four, his envisioned intervention could surpass both combined, representing a landmark accomplishment in medical history.
Hints of deeper ambition do indeed surface. In August, OpenAI—Altman’s other groundbreaking venture—disclosed a collaboration with Retro involving the creation of a tailored AI model, termed GPT-4b micro, specialized for protein design. Initial internal data suggested that this system enhanced the efficiency of reprogramming markers in stem cells by fiftyfold when compared against naturally occurring factors. The process of cellular reprogramming—essentially turning aged cells back into a more youthful state—is currently regarded as one of the most daring and fashionable pursuits in longevity science. Should AI-driven acceleration of this process translate into successful therapies, it might inaugurate a new era of regenerative medicine. Nevertheless, as with many promises emerging from the AI domain, such prospects remain contingent and highly uncertain at present.
For the moment, Retro’s public agenda reflects a careful balancing act. While ambitious experiments with artificial intelligence and cutting-edge biology incubate internally, the company advances steadily toward clinical reality through the planned Alzheimer’s trial. It remains both cautious and visionary: rooted in scientific rigor, yet animated by a determination to redefine what it means to age.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/retro-biosciences-sam-altman-antiaging-brain-pill-longevity-healthspan-2025-9
