Kristen Fortney

Fortney received a PhD in medical biophysics from the University of Toronto and then did postdoctoral research at Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityStanford University is a research university in California founded by Leland and Jane Stanford in 1885 and opened in 1891.Open the full entry as a fellow of the Ellison Medical Foundation and the American Federation for Aging Research. She spent more than ten years developing bioinformatics approaches to study the mechanisms of aging and age-related disease, publishing 18 papers on computational drug discovery, biomarkers of aging and the genetics of exceptional human longevity.⁠[1][2]

In 2015 Fortney co-founded BioAge Labs, focused on age-related diseases, and became its chief executive. Based in Richmond, California, the company describes itself as a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing treatments to extend healthy lifespan by targeting the molecular causes of aging; in 2021 it licensed worldwide rights to azelaprag, an oral APJ agonist that AmgenAmgenAmgen Inc. is an American company that discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers innovative medicines. Incorporated in California in 1980, it has its principal executive offices in Thousand Oaks, and its common stock trades on The Nasdaq Global Select Market.Open the full entry had studied for heart failure and discontinued, initially developing it for muscle atrophy in people over 65 before pivoting to obesity.⁠[3][2]

On April 17, 2017, Andreessen HorowitzAndreessen HorowitzAndreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. It invests from the seed stage through the growth stage and provides operational support to its portfolio companies.Open the full entry released “a16z Podcast: The Science of Extending Life,” in which Fortney, as CEO of BioAge, appeared with Thomas Rando, director of Stanford’s Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, and a16z’s Vijay Pande and Hanne Winarsky. The episode asked whether treating aging is realistic or science fiction, covering “geroscience,” the study of aging itself as the root risk factor for age-related disease; advances such as parabiosis (infusing young blood into old), senolytics and rapamycin; a shift from immortality toward extending “health span”; the forms future anti-aging therapies might take; and the scientific, logistical and regulatory changes needed to make them widely available. It was uploaded to the a16z YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry channel on January 1, 2019, as “a16z Podcast | The Science Of Extending Life.”⁠[4][5]

On March 16, 2018, Andreessen Horowitz released “a16z Podcast: How to Live Longer and Better,” recorded at a16z’s November 2017 Summit and hosted by Hanne Tidnam. Speaking as CEO and co-founder of BioAge Labs, Fortney joined Q.Bio CEO and co-founder Jeffrey Kaditz, David SinclairDavid SinclairDavid Sinclair is an Australian-born geneticist and professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, known for research on the biology of aging, including sirtuins, resveratrol and the “information theory of aging,” and for the book Lifespan; he co-founded companies including Sirtris Pharmaceuticals and Life Biosciences, and some of his claims about reversing aging have drawn controversy among scientists.Open the full entry, co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging at Harvard Medical School, and Stanford genetics chair Michael Snyder to discuss how modern medicine might extend human lifespan and not just healthspan, the tools needed to slow or reverse aging, and what else would have to change in healthcare and society. It was uploaded to the a16z YouTube channel on January 1, 2019, as “a16z Podcast | How to Live Longer and Better.”⁠[6][7]

On December 23, 2018, a16z uploaded to YouTube the video “Extending Human Lifespan,” featuring Fortney among its speakers, on extending the human lifespan.⁠[8]

On May 2, 2023, Fortney spoke on the panel “Investing in the Age of Longevity” at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2023.⁠[2]

On September 26, 2024, BioAge Labs completed an upsized initial public offering of 11 million shares at $18 each, raising $198 million, and began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker BIOA; it had closed a $170 million Series D in February of that year. At the time of the IPO its lead candidate, azelaprag, was in the phase 2 STRIDES trial in combination with Eli LillyEli Lilly and CompanyEli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) is a U.S. pharmaceutical company founded in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.Open the full entry’s tirzepatide (Zepbound), which began in July 2024 and targeted 220 patients aged 55 and over with obesity.⁠[3]

On December 6, 2024, BioAge Labs announced the discontinuation of the STRIDES phase 2 trial of azelaprag combined with tirzepatide. Liver transaminitis had been observed in 11 of 204 enrolled subjects, without clinically significant symptoms, and not in the Zepbound-only arm; the company notified regulators including the US Food and Drug Administration of the enrollment halt. Fortney said the safety profile was “not consistent with our goal of a best-in-class oral obesity therapy,” while the company remained “encouraged by azelaprag’s promising preclinical and phase 1b efficacy profile.” On the next trading day BioAge shares fell 66% in premarket trading to $6.84.⁠[9][10]