Calico Life Sciences
Commercial
About
Calico Life Sciences is a research and development company founded in 2013 with long-term funding from Google (now Alphabet), led since its founding by Arthur Levinson. It studies the biology of aging through investigator-led laboratories working in yeast, worms, mice, the naked mole-rat and human data, supported by in-house technology labs, machine learning and a partnership with UK Biobank. From 2014 to 2025 it ran a research and development collaboration with AbbVie, which AbbVie terminated in 2025. Its clinical-stage programmes include the eIF2B activator fosigotifator for vanishing white matter disease, ABBV-CLS-628, an anti-PAPP-A antibody in phase 2 for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, and the PTPN2/PTPN1 inhibitor osunprotafib (ABBV-CLS-484) in oncology. The company describes its direction as combining fundamental aging biology with drug development for age-related disease.
Rating breakdown
Aggregate 38/100 · rank #9 in the commercial table full ratings →
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Publications41
- The PTPN2/PTPN1 inhibitor ABBV-CLS-484 unleashes potent anti-tumour immunity (Nature) ↗
- Naked mole-rat mortality rates defy Gompertzian laws by not increasing with age (eLife) ↗
- Estimates of the heritability of human longevity are substantially inflated due to assortative mating (Genetics) ↗
- Diverse partial reprogramming strategies restore youthful gene expression and transiently suppress cell identity (Cell Systems; Kenyon and Kimmel, single-cell/ML) ↗
- rDNA array length is a major determinant of replicative lifespan in budding yeast (PNAS; Gottschling lab) ↗
Discovery56
Trials from ClinicalTrials.gov (this org as lead sponsor), matched to aging by their condition or intervention.
- Phase 2 ANCHOR study of ABBV-CLS-628 (anti-PAPP-A antibody) in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease ↗
- Open-label phase 1/2 study of fosigotifator in vanishing white matter disease ↗
- Phase 1 study of osunprotafib (ABBV-CLS-484), a PTPN2/PTPN1 inhibitor, alone and with anti-PD-1, in advanced solid tumors ↗
Development0
No clinical-stage geroprotective trials recorded.
Fundraising71
- 2018-06 — AbbVie and Calico publicly disclosed that each would commit an additional USD 500 million to their R&D collaboration (first extension, June 2018) · USD 500M · AbbVie source ↗
- 2021-07 — AbbVie and Calico publicly disclosed that each would commit an additional USD 500 million to their R&D collaboration (second extension, July 2021) · USD 500M · AbbVie source ↗
Education10
- Cynthia Kenyon ARDD speaker source ↗
- Rochelle Buffenstein ARDD speaker source ↗
Key outputs
- clinical trial Phase 2 ANCHOR study of ABBV-CLS-628 (anti-PAPP-A antibody) in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease ↗ 2025
- clinical trial Open-label phase 1/2 study of fosigotifator in vanishing white matter disease ↗ 2023
- publication The PTPN2/PTPN1 inhibitor ABBV-CLS-484 unleashes potent anti-tumour immunity (Nature) ↗ 2023
- publication Naked mole-rat mortality rates defy Gompertzian laws by not increasing with age (eLife) ↗ 2018
- publication Estimates of the heritability of human longevity are substantially inflated due to assortative mating (Genetics) ↗ 2018
- clinical trial Phase 1 study of osunprotafib (ABBV-CLS-484), a PTPN2/PTPN1 inhibitor, alone and with anti-PD-1, in advanced solid tumors ↗ 2021
- publication Diverse partial reprogramming strategies restore youthful gene expression and transiently suppress cell identity (Cell Systems; Kenyon and Kimmel, single-cell/ML) ↗ 2022
- publication rDNA array length is a major determinant of replicative lifespan in budding yeast (PNAS; Gottschling lab) ↗ 2022
Registered clinical trials
12 trials list this organisation as lead sponsor ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
- ANCHOR Study: A Study to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of ABBV-CLS-628 in Adult Participants With Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (ADPKD) ↗ PHASE2 · RECRUITING · 2025-06-09
- A Study to Assess the Safety, Tolerability, and Interactions of ABBV-CLS-616 Oral Tablets in Healthy Adult Participants ↗ PHASE1 · COMPLETED · 2024-11-11
- Study of [14C] ABBV-CLS-7262 in Healthy Male Volunteers Following Single Oral Dose Administration ↗ PHASE1 · COMPLETED · 2024-05-21
- A Thorough QT Study of ABBV-CLS-7262 in Healthy Subjects ↗ PHASE1 · COMPLETED · 2024-03-14
- A Phase 1 Study Assessing the Effect of Food on the Pharmacokinetics of ABBV- CLS-7262 ↗ PHASE1 · COMPLETED · 2023-12-19
- A Phase 1 Study of ABBV-CLS-7262, Rosuvastatin, and Digoxin in Healthy Subjects ↗ PHASE1 · COMPLETED · 2023-03-24
- HEALEY ALS Platform Trial - Regimen F ABBV-CLS-7262 ↗ PHASE2, PHASE3 · COMPLETED · 2023-03-23
- An Open-Label Exploratory Study of Fosigotifator in Participants With Vanishing White Matter Disease ↗ PHASE1, PHASE2 · RECRUITING · 2023-03-13
Showing 8 of 12 registered trials.
Financial
Financing rounds
| Date | Amount | Round | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-06 | USD 500M | AbbVie and Calico publicly disclosed that each would commit an additional USD 500 million to their R&D collaboration (first extension, June 2018) | AbbVie |
| 2021-07 | USD 500M | AbbVie and Calico publicly disclosed that each would commit an additional USD 500 million to their R&D collaboration (second extension, July 2021) | AbbVie |
Key people
Arthur D. LevinsonFounder and CEOCynthia KenyonVice President, Aging Research (joined 2014)Daniel GottschlingDistinguished FellowDavid BotsteinFounding Chief Scientific Officer (2013-2023; retired 2023, deceased February 2026)Carmela SidrauskiDistinguished Principal Investigator (integrated stress response / eIF2B)Eugene MelamudPrincipal Investigator (metabolomics and computational biology)J. Graham RubyPrincipal Investigator (comparative biology of aging; naked mole-rat mortality study)David StokoeHead of Oncology
Research fields
Links
Sources
- https://www.calicolabs.com/
- https://www.calicolabs.com/story/our-story-taking-a-long-term-view-on-tackling-aging-and-increasing-healthspan/
- https://www.calicolabs.com/people/
- https://www.calicolabs.com/people/cynthia-kenyon/
- https://www.calicolabs.com/people/arthur-d-levinson/
- https://googlepress.blogspot.com/2013/09/calico-announcement.html
- https://www.calicolabs.com/press/abbvie-and-calico-announce-a-novel-collaboration-to-accelerate-the-discovery-development-and-commercialization-of-new-therapies/
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/abbvie-and-calico-announce-extension-of-groundbreaking-collaboration-300672036.html
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/abbvie-and-calico-announce-second-extension-of-collaboration-focused-on-aging-and-age-related-diseases-301341606.html
- https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1551152/000155115226000008/abbv-20251231.htm
- https://www.biospace.com/business/abbvie-ends-11-year-relationship-with-calico-lays-off-100
- https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06902558
- https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05757141
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06575-7
- https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.31157
- https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.118.301613