✨Full article break down as a Q&A section with Alex Kadet included at the end.✨

Gero’s Chugai Deal: Aging Biology Moves Into the Pharma Mainstream

AI drug-discovery company Gero has signed a licensing deal with Roche-owned Chugai. In a crowded field of AI startups, it was Gero’s commitment to aging biology that made it stand out.

While most coverage focused on the financials, this story is bigger than a headline. It signals that aging biology is reshaping early-stage drug discovery—and that pharma is no longer just watching from the sidelines.

In a behind-the-scenes interview with Alex Kadet, the business developer who led the commercial effort, we unpack how the deal came together — and what it means for the field.

Modeling Aging to Treat Disease

Gero treats aging as a dynamic system that can be measured, modeled, and intercepted. Using physics-based analyses of longitudinal human data, the company pinpoints how biological resilience erodes over time, then targets the mechanisms driving that decline.

That systems-level lens is what first drew Chugai’s attention, according to Alex Kadet, Business Developer at Gero.

"The first conversation with Chugai happened in mid 2021, just after we had raised our round," Alex told us. "We had something that stood out—not just AI, but a new way of thinking about biology as a physical system."

But the conversations truly picked up after Gero’s 2023 partnership with Pfizer, which gave the team access to larger-scale human datasets.

"Once we started showing traction on both technology platform development and industrial partnerships leveraging human data – the interest from Chugai got more serious. The Pfizer partnership was a key unlock."

This two-year journey from first in-depth conversation on the potential contact to deal signing underscores a key lesson for biotech founders: pharma moves slowly, and partnerships are built through consistent, long-term engagement.

From Human Data to a Licensed Target

The assets Chugai licensed— undisclosed age-related-disease targets—followed Gero’s “human-first” pipeline:

1. Discovery in real-world people: Large-scale human datasets revealed a vulnerability tied to loss of resilience.

2. Physics-based prioritization: Gero’s model flagged specific mechanisms as a high-leverage intervention points.

"Pharma wants human data. That’s what helps to get the conversation started," Alex explained. 

Gero’s approach—predicting in humans, then proving in animals—demonstrates a translational model that can resonate with pharma's need for risk mitigation.

The Deal: Structure & Milestones

Gero tells us the agreement with Chugai includes:

• A confidential upfront

...