Longevity & AgingInside Drug Development: Bimagrumab, mTOR, and the Science of Making Longevity Medicines
In this episode of The Peter Attia Drive, physician-scientist Lloyd Klickstein offers a rare insider account of how new drugs are developed, using bimagrumab — an antibody targeting myostatin and activin signaling — as a detailed case study. He traces the full arc from identifying sarcopenia as an unmet medical need, through antibody engineering, animal studies, toxicology, IND submission, and into human clinical trials. A pivotal discovery along the way was bimagrumab's unexpected ability to reduce fat mass and improve metabolic markers in type 2 diabetes, redirecting development toward obesity. The conversation also covers the BELIEVE trial combining bimagrumab with semaglutide, the economics and regulatory mechanics of drug development, selective mTORC1 inhibition as a geroprotective strategy, and Klickstein's current work on pharmacologic cancer prevention.
