Longevity.Technology: Senescence has had a good decade. Once a somewhat esoteric corner of cell biology, it now sits squarely in the translational spotlight – implicated in everything from fibrosis to cancer progression to the slow erosion of tissue function that accompanies aging. Therapeutic programs are moving forward. Clinical trials are underway. The ambition is no longer theoretical.
And yet… Ask a deceptively simple question – what, precisely, is a senescent cell in a human patient? – and the answers begin to diverge.
We formally introduce the Senotherapeutics Biomarker Consortium (SBC), a pre-competitive initiative developed under the umbrella of the Pheadon Institute.
The SBC is a pre-competitive, international initiative that brings together academia, industry, and regulatory stakeholders with the common goal to develop and implement reliable biomarkers that can support clinical trials, guide therapeutic decisions, and enable regulatory approval.
While our primary focus is on biomarkers that can function as companion diagnostics for senotherapeutics, the scope of the consortium is intentionally broader. We aim to advance the measurement of senescence across biological contexts, including disease settings beyond aging, and to support the use of these biomarkers in a wide range of interventions.
This effort builds on and complements ongoing initiatives in the field and will be a collective effort.
Quarta M, Neretti N, Jasper H, Demaria M: Advancing senescence translation through the Senotherapeutics Biomarker Consortium. Nat Aging (2026)
Longevity.Technology: What is striking is not simply the clinical progress, but the willingness of competing groups to frame themselves as collaborators rather than rivals; senotherapeutics may yet be the test case for whether longevity biotech can avoid the silos that so often slow translation. If Rome succeeds in delivering a consortium that aligns biomarkers, harmonizes assays and fosters a pre-competitive data-sharing culture, the field could move with unusual speed. That said, no amount of collegiality can wish away the inherent challenges of targeting senescent cells – safety, tissue specificity and the risk of off-target effects remain central – but collaboration may help make those problems solvable rather than intractable. We sat down with the Summit’s organizers – Drs Marco Quarta and Marco Demaria – to find out more.
The International Cell Senescence Association (ICSA) and the Phaedon Institute will jointly host two major scientific meetings dedicated to aging and therapeutic innovation. The 10th Annual ICSA Conference and the 2nd Phaedon Institute SenoTherapeutics Summit will take place from September 16-19, 2025, at the National Research Council (CNR) in Rome.
For the first time, the leading fundamental science meeting on cellular senescence will be directly connected with a global summit dedicated to the clinical and commercial development of senotherapeutics.
During the first senotherapeutics conference organized by the Phaedon Institute at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging (Novato, CA), experts on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of aging, pathogenesis of age-related diseases, and drug discovery and development convened to delve into ideas on the past, present, and future of targeting senescent cells. The summit was divided into four sessions: basic biology, preclinical, clinical, and early-stage companies. Panel discussions covering large pharma, biomarkers, and investments in the field were organized between sessions….
Quarta M, Demaria M: On the past, present and future of senotherapeutics. npj Aging 10, 11 (2024)
SRF CEO Lisa Fabiny-Kiser speaks with Dr. Marco Quarta, CEO Phaedon Institute about the vision for his new longevity non-profit!
Ahead of next month’s key SenoTherapeutics Summit, we talk to Dr Marco Quarta about why this frontier science field is accelerating and why the summit is a must-attend event…
By bringing together influential stakeholders from academia, industry, government agencies and investment organizations, the summit, which is titled Past, Present & Future of the Science of Cellular Senescence and the Therapeutics, aims to create a forum of discussion that will promote synergy and co-operation in the senotherapeutics space.
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A new longevity non-profit organization emerged from stealth today with the goal of enabling effective and sustainable growth in the longevity industry. The Phaedon Institute brings together top minds from across the field of aging science, promoting synergy, cooperation, and discussion to support the development of rigorous standards and guidance for the field.
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One of the more noted figures in the senolytics industry has founded a think-tank institute to promote longevity science, and is organizing a senotherapeutics conference to take place later this year. This seems a good thing, and I encourage more of those in the industry to step outside the bounds of their company research and development programs to consider the bigger picture and what they might do to cultivate faster progress towards greater human longevity.
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A new institute focused on Longevity…
