Rentosertib
Rentosertib (ISM001-055) — AI-discovered TNIK inhibitor. Aging itself. Reviewed Sep 2026.
Six aging clocks moved in 42 lung-fibrosis patients over 12 weeks, a design that cannot separate slowed aging from a treated lung, and no healthy-volunteer or outcome data exist.
What it is
The first drug where both the target and the molecule came out of AI: Insilico's platform flagged TNIK as a gene sitting in six hallmarks of aging, and generative chemistry designed the small molecule. It is being developed for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (a lung scarring disease), but the trial also banked blood for proteomic analysis.
The evidence
Zhavoronkov et al., Nature Biotechnology, 7 Sep 2026 — post-hoc proteomic analysis (2,841 proteins, Olink) of the randomised Phase 2a (NCT05938920, Nature Medicine 2025). Big caveats, stated by the authors and by Nobel laureate Michael Levitt: n=42, sick lung patients rather than healthy people, 12 weeks, and the design cannot separate 'aging slowed' from 'a treated lung making the blood look healthier'. Proteomic clocks are not validated surrogate endpoints for lifespan. The healthy-volunteer study is the one that would settle it, and it has not been run.
What you can do today
Outside a registered clinical trial, this is not something you can responsibly get. If it is relevant to you, the route is a trial: ask your specialist, or search a trial registry such as ClinicalTrials.gov for studies you may qualify for.
Sources
- Primary sourcedoi.org
- Trial registryClinicalTrials.gov NCT05938920
Change history
Rentosertib added to Aging, staged as a Phase 3 drug for lung fibrosis whose age effect is an exploratory biomarker signal.
Six proteomic clocks agreed in 42 patients over 12 weeks. That is interesting and it is not evidence of slowed aging. The healthy-volunteer study that would settle it has not been run.
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