Lung drug makes blood look younger on six clocks

Rentosertib was developed to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a progressive disease in which scar tissue impairs lung function. The condition mainly affects people over 65, with cellular senescence and chronic low-grade inflammation playing significant roles. The drug inhibits a protein called TNIK, which is involved in multiple aging-related processes.

In the study, published in Nature Biotechnology, researchers analysed blood samples from 42 participants in an earlier Phase 2a trial. They applied six proteomic clocks: tools that estimate biological age based on protein profiles in blood. Four clocks were trained on chronological age; two on mortality risk.

Three years younger after four weeks

After four weeks on the highest single dose (60 milligrams once daily), four clocks rated patients roughly three years younger on average than at baseline. That difference was statistically significant compared to placebo. The two mortality-trained clocks did not show a significant change at that dose and time point. Patients receiving 30 milligrams twice daily showed the most consistent reductions across both clock types.

What this means, and what it does not

A key limitation is that researchers cannot rule out that the clocks are simply reflecting improvement in the lung disease itself, rather than a broader anti-aging effect. Proteomic clocks measure protein concentrations in blood, which shift when any disease improves. One of the clocks was also developed by Insilico, the same company that created rentosertib. From a longevity perspective, it is noteworthy that multiple independent clocks point in the same direction, but the researchers stress that larger studies are needed to confirm whether this reflects genuine system-wide aging suppression.

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