L.E.K. consultants recommend that pharmaceutical companies start with small teams and partnerships to develop drugs targeting aging

L.E.K. consultants recommend that pharmaceutical companies start with small teams and partnerships to develop drugs targeting aging

On 29 October 2026, L.E.K. Consulting recommended that pharmaceutical companies build research expertise before licensing a drug or acquiring its developer. Companies could begin with joint research or a small equity stake in a developer, then increase their investment as data emerge.

A single mechanism of aging may contribute to several diseases, so a drug targeting that mechanism could have several uses. The L.E.K. strategy starts development with a specific disease as the drug’s first indication. That disease determines the trial population, trial duration, and measure of patient benefit to be considered when reviewing the application for drug approval.

“The first indication must meet pharmaceutical companies’ commercial requirements independently of any additional opportunities associated with targeting aging.”

Before a trial begins, the team needs to select a molecular target, such as a protein the drug will act on, and experimentally test its role in the disease. Many researchers have access to human health databases. In L.E.K.’s assessment, the advantage goes to pharmaceutical companies whose researchers can turn these data into testable hypotheses, design experiments, and collaborate with technology developers. “Building these skills and relationships takes years,” the consultants write in their L.E.K. analysis.

To build this expertise, L.E.K. proposes establishing a small research team within an existing company research area, such as cardiovascular disease. Novartis has DARe, a group studying diseases of aging and tissue regeneration. DARe’s approach to finding ways to regenerate tissue grew out of research on joint and tendon diseases. The group now also applies this approach to Alzheimer’s disease research.

Collaboration can also address how to measure the benefits of future treatments. In the THRIVE project, a coalition led by Stanford University is combining data from several organizations to develop a composite measure of physical and cognitive function. Using medical records spanning many years, the team plans to test which early changes in a person’s health predict chronic diseases. A yearlong lifestyle intervention program will test the measure’s accuracy and whether it captures changes in a person’s health. L.E.K. recommends that pharmaceutical companies participate in this work to learn how to validate and use new measures while they are still being developed.

The consultants expect results from several drug trials in 2027–2028 and suggest that successful drug candidates will become more expensive. They advise companies to decide in advance which results would justify increasing their investment. An early partnership can give a team experience in selecting and testing its own hypotheses before licensing a drug.