SINGAPORE, Dec 5, 2025 - (ACN Newswire) - Immortal Dragons, a forty million dollar purpose-driven longevity fund, has announced a strategic investment in Etheros Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company developing a new class of drug candidates aimed at combating diseases of ageing and potentially slowing human ageing itself. Etheros is advancing water-soluble fullerene derivatives designed to act as catalytic antioxidants that neutralise oxidative stress, which is implicated in cellular damage and age-related conditions.

Reactive oxygen species, or free radicals, are natural by-products of metabolism and are also produced through inflammatory processes such as inflammaging. These molecules can damage biological structures, and oxidative stress has long been considered a contributor to ageing and a wide range of related diseases. Etheros’ compounds appear to address potency and biodistribution limitations that hindered earlier antioxidant approaches.A

New Class of Antioxidant Therapeutics

Etheros’s platform builds on fullerene chemistry, originating from the 1985 discovery of the C60 carbon sphere, which was recognised with the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. While naturally occurring C60 is insoluble in water, Etheros has developed proprietary water-soluble derivatives for potential therapeutic applications. These compounds possess a chemistry that enables them to mimic the body’s endogenous antioxidant enzymes, particularly superoxide dismutase.Unlike conventional antioxidants, which are consumed during the neutralisation of reactive oxygen species, the fullerene derivatives developed by Etheros are catalytic. A single molecule can neutralise thousands of reactive oxygen species molecules per second through a mechanism known as catalytic dismutation. The company’s lead compound has demonstrated a catalytic rate for superoxide removal within the range of other superoxide dismutase mimetics currently under investigation.

The underlying science, developed over many years by the company’s founders, has shown promising results across diverse disease models. Early work demonstrated neuroprotective effects in models of familial ALS and Parkinson’s disease. In one study involving wild-type mice, median lifespan increased by fourteen percent when treatment began in middle age, comparable to the lifespan extension observed with caloric restriction in the same experiment. Additional studies showed that elderly mice treated with the compound outperformed untreated controls in tests of learning and memory. Etheros is now advancing its lead candidate following toxicology studies that established a wide safety margin and new data showing normalising effects on behaviour and neuroinflammation in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.

A Strategic Investment in a Foundational Mechanism of Ageing

The investment aligns with Immortal Dragons’ strategy of targeting fundamental mechanisms of ageing. By addressing oxidative damage, Etheros is focusing on a biological process associated with multiple chronic conditions, including neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases.“Immortal Dragons are both bold and thoughtful. That is a difficult mix to get right. And from a practical perspective, they have also been great to work with; really supportive,” said Dr Jack Scannell, Chief Executive Officer of Etheros.

Explaining the investment decision, Boyang Wang, founder of Immortal Dragons, stated: “Etheros represents an investment in a differentiated platform addressing oxidative stress through catalytic antioxidants. Their approach to this fundamental aspect of ageing biology complements our portfolio strategy and contributes to our mission in the longevity space.”

Looking Ahead

Etheros Pharmaceuticals will use the new funding to advance its lead compound toward human clinical trials. The company’s development strategy focuses on establishing early proof-of-concept in indications with defined biomarkers and clear clinical endpoints, while building a broader long-term platform targeting major age-related diseases.

Key upcoming milestones include completing the regulatory studies required for an Investigational New Drug filing, scaling up GMP manufacturing of the lead candidate, and developing biomarkers to measure drug activity in both preclinical models and future human trials. These steps provide multiple pathways for demonstrating the potential impact of the company’s catalytic antioxidant platform.

The investment from Immortal Dragons marks a significant step forward in advancing Etheros Pharmaceuticals’ fullerene-derived therapeutic programme. By targeting oxidative stress, a fundamental driver of ageing and associated diseases, Etheros aims to build a versatile platform capable of addressing multiple chronic conditions. The company will continue refining its scientific, regulatory, and clinical strategies as it moves toward first-in-human studies.

About Immortal Dragons

Immortal Dragons is a purpose-driven longevity fund headquartered in Singapore. The fund invests in cutting-edge, high-impact technologies and currently supports more than 15 portfolio companies. Beyond conventional investments, the fund advances longevity advocacy through book translation and publishing, translation of longevity leaders’ talks, hosting a leading Chinese-language longevity podcast, and providing sponsorships and grants to longevity initiatives and conferences.

Media Details:
Boyang Wang
Founder Immortal Dragons
press@id.life

Topic: Press release summary
Source: Immortal Dragons
Sectors: BioTech, Blockchain Technology
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