We get old. There’s no mystery to it. You’re born, you grow up, and then you pass on. But why, and how? And is that process somehow reversible? These are the questions Google hopes to answer with its Calico life sciences company, which just announced a new $1.5 billion research and development center in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The new facility will focus on putting resources into drug discovery and early drug development for diseases. If there are better, more efficient ways to stop or prevent illnesses, Calico is going to make sure it finds them.
“Under the agreement, the companies will combine their complementary strengths to accelerate the availability of new therapies for age-related diseases,” Calico said on its website.
The main goal of Calico is to find a way to expand human life; if that relates to preventing age-related diseases and cancers, then Calico will ensure it works toward that goal. The new facility is in collaboration with AbbVie, which is a recent spinoff of Abbott Laboratories. Calico says it will be responsible for research and early development over the next five years, after which AbbVie will step in for late-stage development.
“Together, we are confident that we will bring new therapeutic solutions to patients,” said Michael Severino, Chief Scientific Officer at AbbVie.
Tomorrow we might have gadgets that better track our health; in 15 years we might go to Mars. Over the next 30, 40, 50 years? We might come up with ways to eliminate some diseases and cancers for good.
Source: CalicoLabs