Clinically, Regenosis’ AKG supplements have been found to lower the human biological age by approximately eight years after an average use of seven months. The makers also claimed the supplements could provide more energy, ensure better sleep, assist in weight loss, have body-building effects and create more youthful skin for consumers.
They were developed with an independent biomedical ageing research centre, the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, in California.
World-renowned geroscience scientist and Regenosis Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Brian Kennedy, who was part of the team that developed Rejuvant in 2015, said: “All the things that happen in the body are natural processes. It’s just that different people have different rates. Evolution helps us keep healthy and make babies. But there’s no pressure to keep alive after we hit 40. Our bodies decline.
“However, our life expectancies are higher now. We are living until 80 with all these medicines. Hence, we’re trying to figure out the best strategy to keep ourselves healthy and help people while they are healthy, to keep them healthy for as long as possible. If we slow down ageing, we can offset other diseases too. Age is a huge risk factor for many illnesses, so we are simultaneously preventing diseases”.
Living better
Established in 2019 by Dr Teo Cheng Peng and Dato’ Shaun Lim, Regenosis seeks to address the underlying damages caused by ageing through holistic and personalised rejuvenation programmes.
The firm aims to tackle external factors that cause skin ageing, blemishes and ill-health through various means, such as utilising medtech like DNA sequencing and personalising health and beauty regimens. It has a team of 30 individuals, backed by a panel of doctors, scientists and dieticians.
Formulated in the US and manufactured in a GMP facility in India, Rejuvant utilises a sustained-release mechanism to disperse AKG, mixed with lipids, in the intestines. Supplements for women are fortified with vitamin D, whereas men’s are added with vitamin A. However, both could help delay frailty, one of the signs of ageing.
Regenosis distributes the supplements, which come in a 30-day supply bottle of 60 tablets that costs SGD$200 (USD$145). Customers can benefit from an ongoing promotion of SGD$450 (USD$327) for a 90-day supply. The firm started marketing the supplements end-2021 and retails via its e-commerce site, Shopee and Lazada.
Currently, there are three more clinical studies underway to further understand the mechanisms of AKG and Rejuvant. The supplements are safe to be consumed in adults and have even higher effectiveness in adults aged 40 and above, added Prof Kennedy.
“All (human body) cells produce AKG, but it also consumes a lot of AKG. AKG is responsible for at least 600 enzymatic reactions in our body. For instance, AKG is the primary substrate to make glutathione in red blood cells. Glutathione protects the red blood cells. Therefore, we aim to supply AKG in an exogenous form. There are no signs of toxicity with Rejuvant because it gets used up enzymatically. In a nine-month clinical study, there were no safety issues among subjects.
“Furthermore, it is a natural product that is considered ‘generally regarded as safe’ (GRAS) under the USFDA designations,” added Prof Kennedy, who is also a Professor in the Departments of Biochemistry and Physiology at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Director of the Centre for Healthy Longevity in the National University Health System (NUHS).
Zero to ‘Gero’
Regenosis co-founder Dato’ Shaun Lim highlighted the importance of geroscience, a niche branch of study he believed was needed and could provide the solutions for ageing. Moreover, the UN has even embarked on strategies to manage ageing populations.
He said that the ideal ratio is five to seven taxpayers supporting one elderly. But now, communities are facing a ratio of 4:1. In Japan or Germany, the numbers have even dropped to 2 to 2.5: 1, said Dato’ Lim.
“The average life span of an individual has increased vastly from 48 years old in the 1950s to 84 years old in 2022. From the economic perspective, we might have to pay higher taxes. The solution is to personalise cellular function supplements properly with testing and DNA sequencing as we are ageing every day,” said Dato’ Lim.
He was also confident in the growth potential of Rejuvant in Asia as there is “no competition”. It is believed that the supplements are the only ageing-related ones that have been backed by clinical research.
Hence, Regenosis has targeted sales of up to 100,000 bottles monthly in South East Asia over the next three years. It is also already attempting to penetrate the China market and, later on, South Korea and Japan.
In conclusion, Prof Kennedy said that the end goal was to help people lead better quality, longer lives without multiple diseases. The average life expectancy might be 84, but the healthy life expectancy is only 73 today, he said. Therefore, it is important to target people when they are healthy, not already sick.
“I hope the AKG tablets can improve their overall health. If you’re biologically seven years younger, you will function as such. We also encourage consumers to adopt a sustainable, healthy lifestyle to reap its benefits. My main goal of being in NUS is to keep people healthy longer,” he said.
