Tomorrow Bio, which preserves people after death at ultralow temperatures, has slowed increases in cryoprotectant concentration based on electron microscopy findings, plans to add delivery through the femoral arteries, and is establishing companies to develop new solutions and rewarming methods

Tomorrow Bio, which preserves people after death at ultralow temperatures, has slowed increases in cryoprotectant concentration based on electron microscopy findings, plans to add delivery through the femoral arteries, and is establishing companies to develop new solutions and rewarming methods

On October 24, Tomorrow Bio co-founder Emil Kendziorra presented the company's annual update at the European Biostasis Foundation's open day; the recording was released on October 28. The company fills the blood vessels of people who have died with a protective solution called a cryoprotectant, which prevents ice formation during cooling, in the hope of reviving them in the future.

The main methods used to assess brain preservation are CT and electron microscopy. CT shows where the solution has reached: according to the company's data, it has adequately penetrated almost the entire brain since 2024, leaving little room for improvement by this measure. Electron microscopy reveals the structure of cells and their connections. The prevailing view in neuroscience is that this structure underlies personality and memory, and in its plan for 2026, the company made its preservation the main criterion for decisions. Samples of brain or spinal cord tissue are collected for microscopy; about 40 % of people who have signed a contract with the company consent to this sampling.

Electron microscopy findings prompted one change to the procedure: the solution concentration previously increased in four steps, 5, 10, 30 and 70 % (the last two increases were 20 and 40 percentage points). It now rises from 0 to 70 % in increments of no more than ten percentage points. According to Kendziorra, the first sample and data from collaborative research in the US showed that “in the past, people, including us, increased the cryoprotectant concentration too quickly”. The company's reference guide explains that the solution draws water out of cells, so a sudden increase in concentration can damage tissue even without ice formation. Kendziorra expects the more gradual increase to produce substantially better preservation under the microscope.

The solution is currently delivered through the ascending aorta. Concentrated cryoprotectant, Kendziorra said, is “essentially like honey, very, very thick”, so delivery from a single point does not reach every organ at the required concentration. Over the coming weeks, the company will test additional delivery through the femoral arteries, hoping to introduce it in early to mid-2027.

New cryoprotectants will be developed by a commercial company that Tomorrow Bio founded with the investment fund Apollo Health Ventures. Current cryoprotectants are toxic at higher temperatures, making rapid cooling necessary; nontoxic alternatives would allow more time to deliver the solution. The commercial structure attracts investment: the company will also develop solutions for individual cells, bringing in more funding for solutions intended for organs and whole bodies. The association CryoDAO funds research whose commercial returns remain distant.

Zonowarm is a company that Tomorrow Bio is establishing with physicist Ramón Risco of the University of Seville to rewarm frozen tissue using ultrasound. Large volumes of tissue need to be warmed rapidly and evenly; when heat is applied from outside, the surface overheats while the center remains cold. In 2023, Risco's group used ultrasound to revive frozen, millimeter-sized C. elegans worms: survival increased with faster rewarming. In February, CryoDAO allocated 50 thousand euros for pilot experiments in pigs in collaboration with Risco.

Just over a thousand people have signed contracts; as of August, 28 patients were in storage. Kendziorra compared the company's first six years with the first six years of other cryonics organizations: “We are growing considerably faster than the others, but unfortunately, the absolute numbers are still relatively small”.