Australian researchers are developing an anti-ageing pill they claim could trick old cells into thinking they’re 20 years younger.

But it may be more than the key to staying young – it’s also proven to delay the onset of disease, including some cancers.

Queensland University of Technology’s Cancer and Ageing Research Program’s Associate Professor Derek Richard said they believed they found the “holy grail”.

Their discovery could change the way we live and when we die as the lab turns back time.

“We may be able to take a 60-year-old’s cells and make them 40,” oncologist Dr Ken O’Byrne said.

View photos Oncologist Dr Ken O’Byrne says the pill could trick cells into thinking they were 20 years younger. Source: 7 News More

Dr Richard said scientists found a lead compound that seemed to reverse the ageing process.

The anti-ageing drug could stop the DNA wrecking ball which causes cancer, heart disease, cholesterol, arthritis and Alzheimer’s, which 50 per cent of people over 80 have.

The new discovery could prevent all those diseases, delay their onset or even reverse it.

View photos The anti-ageing compound could also reduce the risk of disease. Source: 7 News More

Scientists needs $5 million to turn the compound into a pill you take every day.

The same team who discovered the compound could also use the same science to create a new drug which could replace chemotherapy.

In pre-clinical trials, it has been effective in prostate cancer, drug-resistant lung cancer and melanoma.

“With our drugs we could impact on millions of people every year,” Dr Richard said.

Clinical trials will begin at the start of next year.