From the "Golden Apples of Eternal Youth" in Norse mythology to Qin Shi Huang dispatching Xu Fu to sail east in search of the elixir of immortality, these mythical tales—passed down through the ages—reveal a universal truth: across regions and cultures, the pursuit of health and longevity has always been one of humanity’s deepest and most cherished aspirations.

Today, with the increasing sophistication of medical technology, the dream of reversing aging and extending healthy lifespans is on the verge of becoming a reality. In Nanjing, there is a startup that boasts one of China’s earliest core teams dedicated to aging research. Since its establishment, the company has attracted the participation of Nobel laureates, national high-level overseas talents (special-appointed experts in innovative drug R&D), and executives from top global pharmaceutical companies. In less than three years, it has developed innovative drugs—backed by in vitro and in vivo data—with plans to file for clinical trials within a year. This pioneering Chinese pharmaceutical enterprise, at the forefront of global anti-aging drug R&D, is Nanjing Ruchu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ruchu Pharmaceutical").

As China’s first innovative drug R&D company targeting aging biology to develop therapies for preventing, treating, and reversing aging and age-related diseases, Ruchu Pharmaceutical’s mission is to extend human healthy lifespan. It is committed to developing revolutionary drugs by targeting aging mechanisms. Recently, we visited Ruchu Pharmaceutical and interviewed its co-founder, Wang Peng, engaging in an in-depth discussion on topics such as the significance of anti-aging, the global development of the anti-aging industry, and the challenges of drug R&D. Our goal was to explore how delaying and reversing aging is gradually entering public life through medical innovation.

For a startup, Ruchu Pharmaceutical’s core founding team is remarkably strong.

First, representing the seasoned experts in the pharmaceutical industry is Wang Peng. Since entering China Pharmaceutical University at the age of 18, Wang has accumulated 30 years of experience in new drug discovery and clinical development. As a national high-level overseas talent (special-appointed expert), a PhD from the University of Tokyo, and a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, he has previously served as Senior Vice President of Simcere Pharmaceutical and Vice President of WuXi AppTec. During his career, he oversaw the development of over 20 innovative drugs, including "Xianbixin"—a landmark new drug for stroke that has obtained market approval. Wang’s extensive industrial experience enables Ruchu Pharmaceutical to gain deep insights into market needs and clinical pain points, facilitating the precise development of innovative drugs.

On the other hand, the scientific research team—led by founder Ji Yin—is among the earliest in China and even globally to enter the anti-aging field. Their research achievements in this domain include multiple "world-first" and "earliest-international" breakthroughs, laying a solid foundation in anti-aging research. This expertise empowers Ruchu Pharmaceutical to make science-driven strategic decisions and accelerate R&D progress.

Having previously worked together at a top pharmaceutical company, the two co-founders have witnessed and participated in the development of China’s innovative drug industry. In 2008, China’s innovative drug research began to take off, but it initially followed a path focused on imitation or me-too drugs, leading to severe homogeneous competition and few breakthrough R&D outcomes. As the founding team achieved internationally leading research results in the niche field of aging biology, Wang Peng keenly recognized that anti-aging drug development would not only create a new blue ocean market but also serve as a platform for Chinese innovative drugs to break free from imitation and transition to first-in-class original R&D. The two quickly aligned on this vision and officially established Nanjing Ruchu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in June 2021.

Leveraging the complementary strengths of its "scientific research + industry" team, Ruchu Pharmaceutical has achieved a series of eye-catching milestones since its establishment: shortly after its founding, it attracted Nobel laureates, national high-level overseas talents (special-appointed experts in innovative drug R&D), and executives from top global pharmaceutical companies to join; in less than three years, Ruchu Pharmaceutical has laid out multiple pipelines in various age-related disease fields based on aging biology, with research data available for several Preclinical Candidates (PCCs) and Lead compounds, and has filed multiple patent applications. Its fastest-advancing project has already initiated IND (Investigational New Drug) - Enabling studies.

For startups in cutting-edge research fields, such rapid progress stems from two key factors: on one hand, the founding team’s accumulated industry knowledge and technological achievements; on the other hand, support from capital, which significantly enhances the company’s development quality and efficiency. In October 2022, Nanjing Innovation Investment Group, together with institutions such as Dynamic Balance Capital and Jinyu Maowu, provided Ruchu Pharmaceutical with tens of millions of yuan in angel round financing. This funding supported the company in advancing the clinical application filing and development of core projects, as well as the early-stage R&D and layout of multiple anti-aging pipelines.

In the view of a relevant person in charge of the Investment Department III of Nanjing Innovation Investment Group, Ruchu Pharmaceutical is a rare high-quality target in China that entered the anti-aging field at an early stage. The team’s first-mover advantage in scientific research and innovative R&D strategy is expected to fill the clinical gap in the anti-aging field. "The core team’s capabilities in basic research and extensive experience in drug development are the key factors that attracted our investment."

Given its optimism about Ruchu Pharmaceutical’s leading prospects in the anti-aging field, Nanjing Innovation Investment Group’s support extends beyond capital injection. It also provides customized post-investment empowerment services, including development strategy guidance, follow-up financing assistance, and resource sharing—support that Wang Peng deeply appreciates.

"During the follow-up financing phase, the fund management team actively helped us identify suitable investors, providing Ruchu Pharmaceutical with a solid backing and effectively avoiding many potential obstacles," Wang Peng explained. Although Ruchu Pharmaceutical has faced a challenging financing environment since its establishment, the strong support from Nanjing Innovation Investment Group has enabled the company to advance steadily amid fierce market competition. In the recently completed Pre-A round financing of over 100 million yuan, the Venture Capital Group helped Ruchu Pharmaceutical coordinate the needs of multiple investors, ensuring the smooth completion of the financing.

In popular perception, aging is often associated with changes in appearance. However, this is merely a sign of irreversible decline in the body’s physiological functions—behind it lies the imminent onset of numerous chronic diseases, such as osteoarthritis and other degenerative disorders, and even neurodegenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, commonly known as "渐冻症").

Advancements in medical technology and improved living conditions have significantly extended average life expectancy, but they have also forced people to confront a series of age-related diseases in their later years. For China—officially entering an era of moderate aging—anti-aging is not only about improving the health and quality of life of the middle-aged and elderly but also bears implications for national economic burdens and social development. The importance of developing the anti-aging industry is self-evident. In January this year, the State Council’s "No. 1 Document" explicitly stated support for the development of the anti-aging industry.

However, anti-aging is a complex, multi-dimensional process involving multiple mechanisms—it cannot be achieved by simply addressing a few diseases or developing a handful of drugs. For Ruchu Pharmaceutical, whose ultimate goal is to "delay and reverse aging (Lifespan) through drugs," a scientific, precise, practical, and high-success-rate R&D strategy was essential from the outset to realize this ambitious vision.

Currently, most innovative pharmaceutical companies worldwide (including the few existing anti-aging drug firms) conduct R&D based on their existing research achievements, typically adopting a single-pipeline R&D strategy. Ruchu Pharmaceutical differs in this regard: at its founding, the team established a "three-platform" and "phased" R&D strategy, corresponding to the company’s short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. "We formulated Ruchu Pharmaceutical’s R&D strategy from a higher and more long-term perspective, taking into account the future trends and environment of the entire field," Wang Peng said.

To date, Ruchu Pharmaceutical’s next-generation drugs targeting senescent cells have demonstrated significant efficacy in animal models. Compared with products from other companies, its drugs offer a larger safety window, higher specificity, better safety, and broader clinical indications. Notably, in research conducted on its third technology platform—targeted activation of senescent cells—the Ruchu Pharmaceutical team discovered that with aging, multiple cellular and molecular pathways associated with aging and age-related diseases converge on chronic inflammatory mechanisms. These mechanisms trigger a series of diseases that seriously threaten health. Therefore, Ruchu Pharmaceutical has focused on key inflammatory pathways in the aging process, particularly emerging first-in-class inflammation-related targets. By collaborating with advanced artificial intelligence platforms, the company efficiently identifies hit compounds to pioneer the development of clinically applicable drugs.

Wang Peng pointed out that while the scientific feasibility of delaying and reversing aging through drugs has been confirmed, the technical process still requires a long period of iteration and experimentation. To accelerate this process, Ruchu Pharmaceutical not only "strengthens its internal capabilities" but also "leverages external resources": it has partnered with mature companies with drug clinical development capabilities to accelerate clinical application filings and clinical development; it has also established a mature industry-academia-research cooperation network by joining forces with multiple domestic Grade A tertiary hospitals, first-class universities, CRO (Contract Research Organization) companies, and other emerging technology investment enterprises. These collaborations aim to achieve comprehensive breakthroughs in anti-aging drug R&D as soon as possible.

From American tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson using his vast wealth to assemble a medical team and pursue "eternal youth" through "blood transfusion therapy," to tech tycoons like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates investing heavily in the anti-aging field, it is clear that anti-aging— humanity’s millennia-old dream—has once again become a global focus.

As one of the world’s first teams to engage in anti-aging research, Ruchu Pharmaceutical has a comprehensive and 敏锐 understanding of industry development. Wang Peng noted that currently, overseas anti-aging drug R&D is in its early stages, while the domestic market remains a blue ocean—there is no significant gap between Chinese and international research progress. Therefore, Wang Peng believes that the anti-aging field is expected to become a track where Chinese pharmaceutical companies can achieve "corner overtaking" in the global pharmaceutical industry.

However, realizing this goal requires the joint efforts and patience of the government, capital markets, and enterprises. On one hand, policy support will provide a "reassurance" for industrial development, while the "influx of capital" will increase the "certainty" of pharmaceutical companies achieving outcomes and breakthroughs during their long R&D cycles. On the other hand, "self-improvement is fundamental": an enterprise’s original innovation capabilities and long-term accumulation of basic research results are key to filling "industry gaps." "Currently, the mainstream of domestic drug R&D is still focused on imitation and me-too products, leading to excessive low-level and repetitive competition. True innovation requires long-term scientific accumulation and sustained efforts—pursuing a strategy of quick wins will never work," Wang Peng emphasized.

Furthermore, the transformation of "scientific research into drug development" is a global challenge. How to quickly translate these research results into clinical efficacy and safety, and complete verification through clinical studies, will be a long-term issue that the industry needs to address and overcome.

Fortunately, China’s pharmaceutical industry possesses unique advantages: "China’s pharmaceutical industry has a solid foundation, mature technology, large scale, high resilience in industrial and supply chains, and continuously improving innovation capabilities in recent years. All these will provide strong support for the transformation of China’s pharmaceutical industry toward high-end innovation," Wang Peng believes. These strengths will become a powerful driver for Chinese pharmaceutical companies competing in the "anti-aging race."

It is therefore easy to understand how Ruchu Pharmaceutical has built the confidence, perseverance, and resilience to move forward on a long and uncertain journey: its industry-leading scientific research capabilities, over a decade of experience accumulation, and a long-term mindset of sustainable development in the industry will all serve as exclusive "boosts" for Ruchu Pharmaceutical’s continuous growth and evolution.

"We hope that through our own efforts, Ruchu Pharmaceutical can lead the take-off and development of China’s anti-aging field," Wang Peng said. The path to reversing aging is long and arduous, but progress is inevitable with consistent effort. In the future, Ruchu Pharmaceutical will continue to increase R&D investment, striving to become a world-leading anti-aging drug R&D company and leading the redefinition of aging in human society.