Lonvi Biosciences says it has come up with the ‘Holy Grail’ of human longevity
A Chinese start-up claims to have concocted a potion in the lab to create a new pill that could extend the lifespan of the average human to 150 years.
Lonvi Biosciences says its special sauce targets ‘zombie cells’ in the body. These ageing cells refuse to die and so hang around, triggering inflammation and age-related disease.
The Shenzhen-based start-up is hardly shy about its creation, with CEO Ip Zhu positively boasting: “This is not just another pill. This is the Holy Grail.”
The pill’s key ingredient is derived from grape seeds and has been shown to extend lifespans in laboratory animals by delaying diseases associated with ageing.
Lonvi Biosciences scientists think taking the pill will help people live past 120, while taking it from birth could get you over the 150 mark.
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The pill uses procyanidin C1 (PCC1), a compound derived from grape seeds. In mouse trials, Lonvi claims the treatment nudged overall lifespan up by 9.4%, with a striking 64% extension from the first day of dosing.
Lonvi’s chief technology officer Lyu Qinghua told The New York Times that living to 150 is “definitely realistic” and could be within reach “in a few years”.
China has made anti-ageing research a priority in recent years, with President Xi Jinping caught chatting about it with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
The country has bundled it with AI and biotech, and the longevity scene has gone from fringe to full throttle.
Other entrepreneurs are now piling in. One Shanghai co‑founder told Vice that a decade ago “nobody in China” talked about longevity – it was “only rich Americans”.
Now, there’s surging interest (and cash) to push the science forward, with firms promising everything from disease delay to supercharged cellular energy.
Lonvi says its PCC1 capsule isn’t just about living longer, but living better, by slowing the wear and tear that comes with the candles on the cake.
For now the research has yet to be applied outside the lab, with no human trials to back the clkaims up.
