Rubedo anti-aging skin drug cuts skin age by about two years

Rubedo tested RLS-1496 as a cream on 11 adults with atopic dermatitis, the most common form of eczema, using sun-damaged patches of their skin. After four weeks, skin samples showed an average drop of 2.1 years in epigenetic age, a result the company says was statistically significant.

Individual drops reached up to eight years by day 36. In one person, the reduction measured 11.7 years at day 63, about a month after they stopped using the cream. The aging test was run independently by a separate company, Mitra Bio, on the participants’ skin samples.

Rubedo also reported a 10% increase in type III collagen fibers, a kind of collagen tied to skin structure and elasticity. Blood tests showed lower levels of several inflammation markers, even though the drug itself was undetectable in the blood of most participants. The company presented the data at the Aging Research and Drug Discovery meeting in Boston on Oct. 2, 2026.

The drug goes after senescent cells. These are damaged or stressed cells that stop dividing but refuse to die. They pile up as we age and leak substances that fuel inflammation and tissue damage, which is why they are nicknamed zombie cells.

RLS-1496 works by briefly switching off a protein called GPX4, which acts like a gatekeeper keeping cells alive. With GPX4 turned down, senescent cells become more likely to die through ferroptosis, a controlled form of cell death. At the same time, the company says, nearby stressed cells that are still healthy get a chance to recover. Rubedo calls this two-sided approach “SenoAdaptive.”

Clearing out senescent cells is one of the most popular ideas in longevity research. It isn’t simple, because these cells also do useful jobs, such as helping wounds heal and shutting down cells that could turn cancerous.

The headline number depends on an epigenetic clock. These tests look at methylation, small chemical tags on DNA that change over the years and affect how genes behave, and use the pattern to estimate a biological age. A lower number does not prove that skin has become functionally younger.

Eric Verdin, who runs the Buck Institute, an aging research center that has developed several such clocks itself, welcomed the work but urged caution, saying he would be “a little circumspect about what these clocks really measure” because so many now exist.

Anthony Rossi, a dermatologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, called the science novel but very early. He wants to see the effect in people with healthy skin, not just those with skin conditions, and pointed out that some senescent cells help by stopping cancer from progressing. For now, his advice is plain: “The best anti-aging routine right now is sleep, a good diet, and exercise.”

There’s a practical gap too. What people care about is how their skin looks and feels. The trial measured biology in tissue samples, not wrinkles or firmness.

No. RLS-1496 is an investigational drug, which means it is only available to people enrolled in clinical trials. It has not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or regulators in the UK or Canada, and Rubedo has not announced a launch date or price.

The company’s first goal is to treat skin diseases rather than wrinkles. CEO Frederick Beddingfield, who previously launched Botox as chief medical officer at Allergan, has said he sees potential for a lower-strength, over-the-counter version for everyday skin aging that would compete with retinol. That idea is a long way from store shelves.

The same drug is being studied for several conditions:

• Actinic keratosis: rough, scaly patches from sun damage that can sometimes turn into skin cancer. In 18 patients, the cream cut lesions by 46% after four weeks, compared with 11% in an untreated group, with no serious side effects reported. A larger dose-finding study was planned for the fourth quarter of 2026.
• Psoriasis and sun-damaged skin: earlier testing in Europe met its main safety goal.
• Hereditary hair loss: a Phase 2a study in androgenetic alopecia, the common pattern baldness, was set to begin in October 2026.

Rubedo is also turning the drug into a pill to study whether it can help with metabolic conditions linked to aging. The company says its fuller skin data, including results from 70 people, are being prepared for medical journals. Peer-reviewed publication, and larger trials in people with healthy skin, are the next things to watch before anyone can say whether this cream really turns back the clock.