Latest from the Fund
Portfolio announcements, industry intelligence, and breakthroughs across the longevity ecosystem.
CrofaBiotech confirmed that Bety is companies first 3KO gene edited pig.
CrofaBiotech, a portfolio company of Longevity Venture Fund I, LLC, today confirmed that “Bety,” a gene-edited cloned pig produced at the company’s programme in Argentina, carries functional knockouts of all three genes responsible for the major carbohydrate xenoantigens that prevent transplantation of pig organs into humans. Testing of kidney and heart tissue confirmed the absence of all three antigens, measured against wild-type controls in which all three were present. The result places CrofaBiotech among a small group of programmes worldwide — and, to the company’s knowledge, the first in Latin America — to have produced and validated a triple-knockout (3KO) pig. It is the enabling step for the company’s first-in-human clinical trial, currently slated for the middle of next year.
Longevity Venture Fund I Acquires 30% Stake in XenoBlood, LLC in $500,000 Seed Investment
Longevity Venture Fund I (“LVF I” or “the Fund”), a private fund investing in regenerative medicine and longevity businesses, today announced a seed investment in XenoBlood, LLC, a preclinical biotechnology company developing genetically engineered porcine red blood cells. Under the agreement, LVF I will invest $500,000 in stage-gated tranches for a 30% fully diluted ownership stake, implying a post-money valuation of approximately $1.67 million.
Cellarion — 5 iPSC Clinical Trials Planned to be Initiated in Q2 & Q3 2026
Cellarion is progressing its iPSC biobank platform with 5 clinical trials planned for Q2 and Q3 2026, targeting $67M in Year 5 revenue — one of the most capital-efficient iPSC programs in the industry.
Weekly Competitor News Sweep
BlueRock advanced bemdaneprocel to a registrational Phase III — the first for any pluripotent-stem-cell-derived therapy in Parkinson's. TreeFrog presented preclinical data showing functional motor recovery in ~13 weeks.
CrofaBiotech Announces Birth of Latin America's First 3-Gene Modified Pig for Xenotransplantation
The "CrofaPig" represents a historic milestone in the race to solve the global organ shortage crisis, positioning CrofaBiotech as a regional leader in xenotransplantation research.
Cellarion: The Autologous Bet — A Must Read
Why autologous iPSC-derived insulin-producing cells will out-compete Vertex and Eledon — and why two Chinese trials have already proven the strategy works.
RENUE Medical Centre to Build cGMP iPSC Production Laboratory
RENUE will become one of only two facilities in the world treating patients with iPSCs. The state-of-the-art laboratory in Nuevo Vallarta will manufacture clinical-grade iPSCs in partnership with Cellarion.
