Researchers at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging have developed an epigenetic clock that could predict an individual’s intrinsic capacity score, a composite score that is a measure of healthy aging. The clock, which has only limited overlap with other epigenetic clocks, could be “a surrogate for aging that can be used for clinical trials,” senior author David Furman told BioWorld. And even more basically, it could help address a basic conundrum: that aging is the major risk factor for most causes of death, but not itself a disease.

Corestemchemon Inc. is planning to file a BLA for Neuronata-R (lenzumestrocel) by the end of 2025 to gain accelerated approval from the U.S. FDA, company officials confirmed to BioWorld during a June 2 interview. Neuronata-R is an autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy that first gained approval in South Korea in 2014 to delay the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Aribio Co. Ltd. signed a $600 million license deal with Acino International AG, an Arcera Life Sciences subsidiary, granting the latter commercial rights to its oral Alzheimer’s disease therapy, AR-1001, in select countries including the Middle East.