Birmingham-based Yuva Biosciences has unveiled a major funding round led by one of the country’s largest angel investment networks.
VentureSouth led a $7.5 million seed round for Yuva.
"Tens of billions of dollars are spent every year on cosmetics products that address symptoms of aging but don't actually slow the aging process,” said Matt Dunbar, managing director at VentureSouth. "Yuva Biosciences' technology solves this problem with once-in-a-generation innovation by fighting a key root cause of aging, mitochondrial dysfunction. We are truly excited about the potential impact these products can have for millions of consumers."
VentureSouth has invested over $82 million in more than 100 companies.
Keshav K. Singh, chief scientific officer and co-founder of Yuva, is a Harvard-trained researcher and Joy and Bill Harbert Endowed Chair and professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is also the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Mitochondrion, founder of the Mitochondria Research and Medicine Society and author of more than 100 scientific studies on mitochondria. He founded Yuva in 2019, using artificial intelligence to identify molecules that could restore mitochondrial function.
The Yuva Biosciences team has experience translating science into products, including CEO Greg Schmergel, a serial entrepreneur whose previous company was in the nanotechnology field, and consumer products innovation leader Shekhar Mitra. Mitra was previously the senior vice president of corporate innovation at Procter & Gamble and part of P&G’s Global Leadership Council. Under his leadership, P&G created and developed products, such as Oil of Olay Regenerist, Crest Whitestrips, Crest ProHealth, Aleve Analgesic, Prilosec, Old Spice Clinical Strength and others. Mitra has been awarded over 50 patents.
“Applying a unique platform based on mitochondrial science to create breakthrough products for skin care and hair care, as Yuva Biosciences has done, is a real game-changer, with noticeable effects being seen already in multiple clinical trials and now in products on the shelves," Mitra said.
As for what's next, though Yuva Biosciences is starting with hair and skin aging, the company has the potential to address other mitochondrial-related issues such as ovarian aging — fertility and menopausal issues — wound care and more, Schmergel said.
