Google Calico joins AbbVie for immortality research

The group known as Calico has joined with AbbVie to co-invest up to $1.5 billion USD in research and development of age related diseases. Calico (aka California Life Company) is a Google-backed business, and the diseases they're looking into include neurodegeneration and cancer. In other words: they're looking into keeping us alive forever.

Calico will create a "leading R&D facility" in the San Francisco Bay Area with this new investment. They'll utilize Calico's discovery and early development capabilities as well as AbbVie's "broad research, development, and commercial expertise" to drive forward their respective areas of expertise.

According to their official release this afternoon:

• Calico will use its scientific expertise to establish a world-class research and development facility, with a focus on drug discovery and early drug development.

• AbbVie will provide scientific and clinical development support and its commercial expertise to bring new discoveries to market.

Both AbbVie and Calico will be providing up to $250 million to fund their collaboration. Both sides will have the potential to invest an additional $500 million.

Both parties will share their costs and profits equally, and AbbVie will support Calico in early R&D efforts and later activities. Calico will be responsible for both research and early development for the first five years of this collaboration, as well as continued collaboration projects through what they're calling "Phase 2a" for an additional 10-year period.

Have a peek at our previous Calico research posts in the timeline below to learn more. Welcome to the rest of your (potentially endless) life!