In the future, legions of centenarians will romp through fields of flowers like spry teenagers, unimpeded by the ravages of old age. Or at least that’s what pharmaceutical juggernaut GlaxoSmithKline is betting on. The drug company recently spent $720 million on Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, a young upstart in the field of anti-aging research. The burgeoning company’s premiere drug is called “resveratrol” and it mimics the preserving effects of severe calorie restriction.

Cutting back on calories has been shown to extend life spans in everything from yeast to humans. Resveratrol targets a gene that becomes active during such sparse times, reenergizing fatigued mitochondria. The cell powerhouses are susceptible to corrosive oxidation by free radicals, the destructive byproducts of burning chemical energy in our bodies. This corrosion is thought to be at the feebly beating heart of all aging-related ailments, from heart disease to dementia. Repair mitochondria and reverse aging—or so the theory goes.

Brandon Keim of Wired News spoke to David Sinclair, cofounder of  Sirtris, at the World Science Festival Monday. Sinclair said resveratrol is in phase two of clinical trials and should hit the market within four or five years. The price for virtual immortality? $4 to $5 a pill, said Sinclair.

Link to Wired Science article

Link to Sirtris Pharmaceuticals