Full-Time
Scientist – Aging Metabolism
Posted on 5/24/2025
Calico Labs
201-500 employees
Biopharmaceutical research on aging therapies
Compensation Overview
$135k - $163k/yr
San Bruno, CA, USA
In Person
 Biology & Biotech (2) |
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- PhD or MD/PhD in cell/molecular biology, biochemistry or a related field with 0-5 years of postdoctoral and/or industry experience
- Experience working with animal models to study human disease and/or aging
- Deep knowledge of cellular and organismal metabolism and physiology
- Strong working knowledge of genetics, cell biology and molecular genetics
- Detail-oriented, organized and driven
- A track record of strong research productivity
- Strong teamwork and communication skills
- Flexible, able to respond quickly to shifting priorities and able to multitask
- Must be willing to work onsite five days per week
- Perform basic research to determine metabolic mechanisms underlying aging process
- Develop approaches to evaluate metabolic interactions between specific cell types during aging
- Publish papers and present findings both internally and at scientific conferences
- Experience with mass spectrometry to measure metabolites and/or lipids and/or proteins
- Experience using stable isotope labeling to understand metabolic fluxes in vitro and/or in vivo
- Experience with integrating multiomics data
- Expertise in immune biology and immune cell cultures
- Competence with mammalian tissue culture, in vitro gene editing techniques (CRISPR/Cas9, viral transduction) and basic molecular biology methods
- Familiarity with R or Python for data analysis and visualization
Calico Labs conducts research to understand aging biology and develops treatments for age-related diseases in the biopharmaceutical space. It uses basic and translational science with advanced technologies and collaborations with universities and other pharma companies to study aging mechanisms and translate discoveries into therapies. Its main value comes from partnerships, shared intellectual property, and co-development of new therapies funded by grants and research contracts, rather than selling products directly from its own labs. The goal is to slow or prevent diseases linked to aging by turning biological insights into real-world therapies, leveraging a network of researchers and industry partners to accelerate progress.
Company Size
201-500
Company Stage
Seed
Total Funding
$2M
Headquarters
South San Francisco, California
Founded
2013
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Extended Broad Institute collaboration to 2029 focuses on neurodegeneration.
- FDA START Pilot selects fosigotifator, accelerating VWM disease development.
- Michael Lenardo appointed CSO in August 2024, enhancing immunology expertise.
What critics are saying
- AbbVie exits $3.5B alliance, eliminating commercialization for ABBV-CLS-484.
- Fosigotifator fails ALS endpoint, invalidating eIF2B strategy across pipeline.
- Alphabet cuts funding by 2027 without Phase 3 candidate, redirecting to Verily.
What makes Calico Labs unique
- Calico targets novel aging biology like ISR with fosigotifator for neurodegeneration.
- Portfolio exceeds 20 preclinical compounds in cancer and neurological diseases.
- Pioneers first-in-class PTPN2/N1 inhibitor ABBV-CLS-484 for immunotherapy.
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Benefits
Performance Bonus
Professional Development Budget
Company News
AbbVie exits alliance with Alphabet biotech Calico; report. Reports are emerging that a multibillion-dollar partnership between AbbVie and Alphabet-backed biotech Calico has come to an end after more than a decade. The divorce - first report by Stat - comes just a few days after Calico issued a press release that celebrated the FDA award of orphan drug status to ABBV-CLS-628, an AbbVie-partnered programme in phase 2 testing for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) that has also been fast-tracked by the US regulator. The alliance between AbbVie and Calico dates back to 2014, just a year after it was launched by Alphabet's Google unit, when the two companies pledged up to $1.5 billion to a joint effort to develop treatments for age-related diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. It was expanded in 2018 and again in 2021 to a potential value of $3.5 billion, with Calico responsible for taking projects into early clinical development until 2025 and running phase 2a trials until 2030, with AbbVie having an option to take over projects once they reach later-stage development and to lead commercial activities. However, after more than 11 years and an investment of more than $1.75 billion, the partners have yet to score a regulatory approval for a new medicine. Just last month, Calico appointed AbbVie's former head of global medicinal chemistry, Philip Kym, for the newly created role of head of drug discovery, in a further sign of how closely the two companies have been working. According to Stat, AbbVie's change of heart - revealed in a series of internal emails - is a result of shift in strategy at the pharma group away from small-molecule drugs and towards more complex genetic medicines and will lead to around 100 employees losing their jobs. AbbVie has not commented on the status of its relationship with Calico. If confirmed, the separation also follows disappointing results with another AbbVie-partnered programme - fosigotifator (ABBV-CLS-7262) for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - earlier this year. Data from an arm of the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial found no evidence for any impact on ALS disease progression with fosigotifator, an eIF2B activator, as well as secondary measures like ALS symptoms, respiratory function, and quality-of-life scores. Other partnered projects include ABBV-CLS-484, a PTN1/2 inhibitor in early-stage clinical testing as a potential cancer immunotherapy. Meanwhile, a recent decision to in-license an antibody-based IL-11 inhibitor (9MW3811) for fibrotic diseases from China's Mabwell Bioscience, rather than continue to rely on its in-house discovery engine, has also been viewed in some quarters as a sign that Calico has not been firing on all cylinders.
Alphabet's aging-focused subsidiary Calico Life Sciences has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Mabwell Bioscience to advance the Shanghai biotech's anti-IL-11 monoclonal antibodies for age-related diseases.
According to the agreement, Calico will have exclusive rights to develop and commercialize 9MW3811 in all regions except greater China.
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Calico Life Sciences LLC (Calico), a biotechnology organization focused on the biology of aging and age-related diseases, and founded by Alphabet and Arthur D. Levinson, Ph.D., today announced that its investigational eIF2B activator fosigotifator (ABBV-CLS-7262) has been accepted into the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Support for clinical Trials Advancing Rare disease Therapeutics (START) Pilot Program. Fosigotifator is being developed by Calico and AbbVie pursuant to their 2014 collaboration as a potential treatment for Vanishing White Matter (VWM) disease.FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) and Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) initiated the START Pilot Program to help further accelerate the development of novel drug and biological products for rare diseases. Selected participants will be able to obtain frequent advice and enhanced communication with FDA review staff to address program-specific development issues, including, but not limited, to clinical study design, choice of control group, and fine-tuning the choice of patient population."Calico is honored that fosigotifator has been selected by CDER as one of three candidates for the FDA's innovative START Pilot Program. The inclusion of fosigotifator underscores the potential of this investigational therapy in addressing the unmet needs of individuals and families affected by Vanishing White Matter Disease," said Arthur D
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Calico Life Sciences LLC (Calico) and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, announced today that the two organizations have further extended their partnership with an added focus on age-related neurodegeneration. Initially announced in March 2015, this renewed agreement extends the collaboration until September 2029 and will continue to support ongoing programs focused on the biology and genetics of aging as well as early-stage drug discovery. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed."We are pleased to continue our collaboration with the Broad Institute. It is entering its tenth year and we've made a considerable amount of progress, including discoveries that could make immunotherapies more effective for more patients. We are currently testing this approach in two early-stage clinical trials evaluating a pair of PTPN2 inhibitors," said Arthur D