Unity Biotechnology, Inc. (UBX) SEC Filing 10-K Annual report for the fiscal year ending Monday, December 31, 2018

Exhibit 99.1

UNITY Biotechnology, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Financial Results and Program Updates

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 6, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

"We ended 2018 in a strong position having made significant progress in our lead development programs," said Keith Leonard, chairman and chief executive officer of UNITY. “In 2019, we are focused on continuing to advance programs across a range of age-related diseases and look forward to the readout of our Phase 1 study of UBX0101 in osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee.”

Recent Highlights and Program Updates

Osteoarthritis – UBX0101

In January 2019, UNITY announced that supportive safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic data observed to date from the Phase 1 study of UBX0101 in patients with OA of the knee allowed the company to expand the study with an additional cohort of patients at the highest evaluated dose (Part B). Part B will supplement the initial Phase 1 study (Part A) by further evaluating the impact of UBX0101 on specific pro-inflammatory and extracellular matrix modifying factors within the Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP). Enrollment is completed for both parts of the study. Initial study results are expected to be available in the second quarter of 2019.

OA of the knee is believed to be a heterogeneous and multifactorial disease in which multiple SASP factors are implicated in pathogenesis. The Phase 1 study will evaluate the impact of UBX0101 on SASP factors (up to 24 in synovial fluid and up to 8 in plasma) believed to play a role in human OA. The factors were selected based on our Ph 0 OA biomarker study, pre-clinical data and an extensive literature review. These factors, which include cytokines and chemokines, proteases and protease inhibitors, and growth factors and adhesion molecules, will be measured for change from baseline to 12 weeks (in Part A) and baseline to 4 weeks (in Part B).

“As observed in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, the therapeutic suppression of just one factor has the ability to meaningfully alter the course of disease,” said Jamie Dananberg, chief medical officer of UNITY. “While evidence suggests that individual SASP factors contribute to OA disease pathology, it is our belief that suppression of multiple factors may be needed for a meaningful clinical benefit to be observed. A senolytic therapeutic approach has the unique potential to address a root cause of OA and suppress multiple factors implicated in disease.”

Ophthalmology – UBX1967

In January 2019, UNITY announced it selected UBX1967 as the lead development candidate in the ophthalmology pipeline for advancement into studies to enable an Investigational New Drug (IND) application. UNITY has generated compelling pre-clinical pharmacological data on UBX1967 and completed extensive exploratory toxicology and safety assessment studies of this molecule. One of the properties of UBX1967 is sustained exposure in ocular tissues of interest after intravitreal injection. After engaging regulatory authorities