Developing a new approach to chronic disease
Many of today’s most common diseases require patients to manage symptoms through daily medications for years or even decades. While these treatments can be effective, they often do not address the underlying biological processes driving disease progression.
Rejuvenate Bio is working to change that.
Founded from research originating in the laboratory of George Church, Ph.D., at Harvard Medical School and the Wyss Institute, Rejuvenate Bio is developing gene therapies designed to provide long-term therapeutic benefit from a single administration. Rather than relying on continuous treatment, the company’s platform seeks to enable the body to produce therapeutic proteins over time, creating the potential for durable effects from a one-time intervention.
The challenge
Age-related chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and metabolic disorders affect millions of people worldwide and represent some of the largest healthcare challenges in medicine. Existing treatments often require lifelong medication regimens, ongoing patient compliance, and significant healthcare costs.
Despite decades of medical advancement, many therapies continue to focus on managing symptoms rather than addressing the underlying biology contributing to disease progression.
As populations age and chronic disease rates continue to rise, the need for more durable and effective treatment options has become increasingly important.
Why Rejuvenate Bio stands out
Rejuvenate Bio is pursuing a fundamentally different approach.
The company’s platform uses liver-directed gene therapy to enable the body to continuously produce FGF21, a naturally occurring protein associated with cardiovascular and metabolic health. The goal is to provide long-term therapeutic benefit from a single administration rather than requiring ongoing treatment.
What makes the company particularly compelling is its platform potential. While many biotechnology companies focus on a single disease, Rejuvenate Bio’s technology may support multiple therapeutic applications across cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, obesity, and other age-related conditions.
The company also utilizes a non-genome-editing approach, allowing therapies to work without modifying a patient’s existing DNA. Combined with strong scientific foundations and growing industry validation, this creates a differentiated position within the rapidly evolving gene therapy landscape.
A platform with broad potential
Rejuvenate Bio’s lead human program, RJB-0402, is focused on arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM/ARVC), a rare, inherited heart disease that currently has no approved disease-modifying treatment.
Beyond cardiovascular disease, the company believes its platform may have applications across multiple large healthcare markets, including:
- Metabolic disease
- Obesity
- Cardiovascular disorders
- Aging-related conditions
The company has also established programs in animal health, where similar technology is being evaluated for canine heart disease and osteoarthritis. These programs provide additional opportunities for development, validation, and potential commercialization while supporting the broader advancement of the platform.
Leadership team
Rejuvenate Bio is led by a team with deep expertise across biotechnology, gene therapy, cardiovascular medicine, and company building.
The company was co-founded by Daniel Oliver, Chief Executive Officer, and Noah Davidsohn, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer. Together, they have built Rejuvenate Bio around research originating from the laboratory of George Church, Ph.D., one of the world’s leading geneticists and pioneers in synthetic biology and genomic medicine.
The leadership team is supported by Deborah Ascheim, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, who brings extensive experience in cardiovascular medicine, clinical development, and regulatory strategy.
Rejuvenate Bio is further strengthened by an accomplished Scientific Advisory Board that includes Katherine High, M.D., founder of Spark Therapeutics and a pioneer in the development of modern gene therapies, along with experts from leading academic, medical, and biotechnology institutions.
Why Jetstream invested
At the Jetstream Venture Fund, we seek opportunities to invest in companies developing breakthrough technologies capable of addressing large markets and meaningful real-world challenges.
Rejuvenate Bio stood out because of its combination of innovative science, strong academic origins, experienced leadership, and platform potential. Rather than pursuing a single product opportunity, the company is building a technology platform that may support multiple therapeutic applications over time.
We believe this approach creates the potential for long-term value creation while positioning the company at the intersection of several important healthcare trends, including gene therapy, precision medicine, and longevity science.
“What attracted us to Rejuvenate Bio was the combination of breakthrough science, platform potential, and market opportunity. We believe the company is positioned at the intersection of several important trends in healthcare, including gene therapy, precision medicine, and the growing demand for more durable treatment approaches.”
— Chris Yoo, Ph.D., General Partner, Jetstream Venture Fund
Building momentum
Since it was founded in 2018, Rejuvenate Bio has continued to advance both its scientific platform and commercial development strategy.
The company has raised more than $10 million in Series A financing, published research in leading scientific journals, advanced multiple development programs, and established strategic partnerships within animal health.
Most recently, Rejuvenate Bio announced a $6 million financing and strategic R&D collaboration with Merck Animal Health. While still early in its growth journey, the collaboration provides additional validation of the company’s technology and development strategy.
As Rejuvenate Bio continues to advance innovative therapies targeting some of medicine’s most challenging conditions, we are excited to support the team and follow its progress in the years ahead.
