Longevity: Coming of Age
From Niche Science to the Mainstream
Medicine has always been about the pursuit of extending life. Yet longevity research has long been seen as a fringe field, at times considered bordering on sci-fi. But in recent years, the field has rapidly matured and moved into the spotlight, heralding the arrival of ‘Medicine 3.0’. Longevity has drawn well over $55 billion of investment in the last decade and what used to be dismissed as snake oil has become serious R&D, backed by both private capital and high-profile government programs.
The Healthspan Lens
At the heart of this maturation has been a fundamental shift in focus from simply trying to extend life (‘lifespan’), to seeking to increase the number and quality of healthy years (‘healthspan’). There’s more to gain in this approach than just quality of life. Studies of centenarians reveal that many compress their period of frailty into just a brief window before death. If more of the population could delay major diseases until late in life, the potential economic benefit would be enormous.
Clinical-Stage Therapies on the Horizon
For decades, a wide range of tinkerers and DIY scientists have experimented with everything from unique diets to unproven supplements, hoping to slow the march of time. We have now entered a far more rigorous age, where multiple longevity-focused interventions are advancing into formal human trials. These trials build on a wealth of foundational research and aim to deliver credible, data-driven breakthroughs.
Common medications like metformin are being repurposed to see if they can delay age-related illnesses. The TAME trial, enrolling thousands of participants, will test how well metformin can stave off multiple chronic diseases at once. Meanwhile, novel approaches such as epigenetic reprogramming, using factors that ‘reset’ cellular gene expression to a younger state, are just entering the clinic.
Positive data in any of these trials would be a milestone, signalling that it’s possible to target aging almost as a disease of itself.
The Paradox of Longevity: We know what works, we just don’t do it
While cutting-edge R&D captures headlines and attention, extensive studies have identified the eight basic habits that can extend healthy life by up to two decades:
Eat well,
Sleep well,
Exercise.
Don’t do drugs,
Don’t smoke,
Don’t drink (too much),
Manage your stress, and
Build positive relationships.
None of these constitute a major breakthrough, yet few people consistently practice this full set of habits. That gap - between ‘knowing’ and ‘doing’ - represents a tantalizing problem for innovators to solve, with ample opportunity for technology to help entire populations lead healthier lives.
Government and Institutional Buy-In
Major institutions are now supporting longevity research as a strategic priority. Even before the MAHA movement, the U.S. government’s ARPA-H had developed PROSPR (Proactive Solutions for Prolonging Resilience) to specifically focus on approaches to maximize healthspan. (Disclosure: our Partner Tristan Hunt is an advisor to the program). Other countries have launched similar initiatives, seeing healthier aging as both a cost-saving measure and a driver of economic productivity. Taken as a whole, we see a field being increasingly de-risked.
Looking Ahead
Longevity has progressed from an aspirational dream to a tangible, investable sector. The opportunity spans both innovative technology and advanced therapies. As new trials begin reporting results, interest among payers and policymakers will likely surge, potentially speeding up coverage and adoption of anti-aging treatments. The next few years may determine how effectively we can transform longevity from the domain of research labs into real-world impact, ensuring not just extra years, but truly better ones.
