Nathaniel “Ned” David is sitting at a conference table in South San Francisco in blue jeans, a black T-shirt and Tevas, looking and sounding a lot like Keanu Reeves as he discusses his latest startup, Unity Biotechnology. The idea behind Unity—preventing aging—sounds crazy, but it’s backed by dozens of scientific papers, the key two in Nature. There are aging cells, called senescent cells, that build up throughout the body and contribute to what we think of as old age—things like achy joints, waning vision, even perhaps Alzheimer’s. Kill those senescent cells with drugs, David reasons, and people might be able to grow old without becoming infirm.
Image: Timothy Archibald for Forbes - Ned David’s colleagues joke that he doesn't seem to age. With his latest company, he's trying to develop drugs that will spare everyone the ravages of getting old.
