Frequently Asked Questions

ieumBio is developing KilliSpan™ — a vertebrate-based longevity intervention platform utilizing the turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri), a naturally short-lived model organism with aging phenotypes conserved across humans and other mammals. Using this platform, we identify and evaluate compounds that modulate aging and promote healthy lifespan extension.

In addition, ieumBio provides the KilliSpan™ platform to pharmaceutical companies, biotech startups, and research institutes to support the in vivo validation of anti-aging and healthspan-promoting candidates.

The turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) is a short-lived vertebrate model that spontaneously develops multiple conserved aging phenotypes observed in humans and other mammals, including neurodegeneration, muscle degeneration, tumorigenesis, and skeletal aging.

Compared with conventional rodent models such as mice and rats, killifish enable lifespan and healthspan studies to be completed within months rather than years, substantially reducing experimental duration, housing costs, and animal resource requirements while preserving vertebrate-level physiological and pathological relevance.

In addition, killifish support longitudinal and quantitative assessment of aging-associated phenotypes, including locomotor activity, growth dynamics, and behavioral decline at the individual level. Their small body size, rapid lifecycle, and scalability make them particularly suitable for higher-throughput in vivo screening of longevity interventions relative to traditional mouse or rat studies.

Importantly, unlike many invertebrate aging models, killifish permit body weight–normalized quantitative oral administration, enabling pharmacologically and toxicologically relevant dose–response evaluation under conditions that more closely resemble mammalian drug delivery paradigms.

ieumBio provides integrated lifespan and healthspan readouts using the KilliSpan™ platform based on the turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri).

Our primary scientific readouts include survival and lifespan analyses, longitudinal locomotor assessment, growth dynamics, and dose–response evaluation following quantitative oral administration. In addition, the platform supports non-invasive monitoring of aging-associated phenotypes and functional decline at the individual level over time.

Depending on the study design, additional downstream analyses, including tissue collection, molecular profiling, histological assessment, and toxicity evaluation, can also be incorporated to support mechanistic and translational aging studies.

A typical longevity study using the KilliSpan™ platform generally requires several stages, including study design, regulatory preparation, compound delivery, lifespan assessment, and final data reporting.

Initial study planning, contract finalization, and compound shipment typically require approximately 1 month. Depending on the study scope and institutional requirements, IACUC approval and related regulatory procedures may require up to 3 additional months.

For lifespan studies, the median lifespan of the turquoise killifish is approximately 16 weeks (~4 months), while maximum lifespan studies can extend up to ~24 weeks depending on the experimental design and the efficacy of the tested intervention. Final study duration may therefore vary depending on the biological effects of the compound under investigation.

Following the completion of the study and the death of the final experimental animals, approximately 1 additional month is typically required for integrated data analysis, statistical processing, and final report generation.

The KilliSpan™ platform is compatible with a broad range of therapeutic modalities and intervention types.

Most studies are performed using body weight–normalized quantitative oral administration, enabling clinically relevant evaluation of small molecules, natural compounds, peptides, nutraceuticals, and dietary interventions.

In addition, depending on compound properties and study objectives, the platform can support multiple administration routes, including intravenous (IV), intraperitoneal (IP), and intramuscular (IM) delivery. This flexibility allows evaluation of diverse therapeutic modalities, including biologics and advanced therapeutic candidates, under vertebrate in vivo conditions.

Compared with traditional mouse-based longevity studies, the KilliSpan™ platform provides substantially improved efficiency in both cost and throughput.

Due to the naturally short lifespan of the turquoise killifish, lifespan and healthspan studies can typically be completed approximately 7–9 times faster than comparable mouse experiments. This significantly accelerates iterative testing and candidate prioritization in longevity research.

In addition, excluding labor costs, the overall experimental cost is approximately 100-fold lower than conventional mouse-based lifespan studies because of reduced housing requirements, smaller compound usage, and simplified infrastructure demands.

These advantages enable higher-throughput in vivo screening of longevity interventions while maintaining vertebrate-level physiological relevance.

Typical clients of ieumBio include pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology startups, academic research institutes, and nutraceutical or functional ingredient companies developing anti-aging and healthspan-promoting interventions.

Our clients generally seek rapid vertebrate-based in vivo validation of longevity candidates, dose–response evaluation, toxicity assessment, and longitudinal healthspan analysis prior to advancing into more resource-intensive mammalian studies or clinical development.

In addition, the KilliSpan™ platform is also applicable to early-stage screening, mechanism-focused aging research, and comparative evaluation of longevity interventions across multiple therapeutic modalities.

KilliSpan™ studies are not intended to replace formal IND-enabling toxicology or regulatory safety studies traditionally required in mammalian systems.

However, killifish-based data can provide valuable translational in vivo evidence during the early preclinical stage to support candidate prioritization, dose selection, mechanism exploration, and longitudinal efficacy assessment.

Because the turquoise killifish is a vertebrate model with conserved aging phenotypes and supports body weight–normalized quantitative dosing, the platform can generate pharmacologically relevant efficacy and toxicity-related datasets that may help de-risk compounds before resource-intensive mammalian studies.

In addition, KilliSpan™ data may complement IND-enabling programs by providing rapid longitudinal healthspan and survival data, particularly for aging-associated indications and longevity interventions.

Send us a brief description of your compound or intervention, target indication, and study goals through the Homepage (Online Inquiry and Contact) or by email ([email protected]). A scientific lead from ieumBio will respond within 2 business days to discuss study feasibility, experimental design, dosing strategy, endpoints, and projected timelines.

Following the initial discussion, ieumBio will prepare a customized study proposal and quotation tailored to the client’s scientific objectives and translational goals. After contract execution and compound shipment, the study proceeds through IACUC and experimental preparation steps prior to initiation.

At study completion, clients receive integrated lifespan and healthspan datasets, including survival analysis, longitudinal behavioral assessment, dose–response evaluation, and optional downstream molecular or histological analyses depending on the study scope.