How to ensure this competition achieves maximum impact?

Prize Designs Age Reversal
#1

Hi everyone,

We all want this competition to achieve maximum impact on the world, and to bring longevity and age reversal to many. But - how do we actually do that?

I would like to pose this as a question to you: assume that we’re now in 2025, and the competition has been concluded with several treatments that have been demonstrated to reverse biological age by 5-10 years. What steps would you suggest we take then, to increase the chance that these treatments will be adopted on a massive scale by the scientific and medical community, as well as by governments and the public itself? Where should we focus our efforts to achieve that outcome?

Looking forward to discussing this with you!

#2

@grahampawelec, @HelpAge_USA, @Elena_Milova, @michalhemmo, @karen, @HRS, @marcrr, can I ask you to weigh in here, especially from the perspective of the medical community and public-health bodies?

The question is part of our Age Reversal Prize Design. For background, please click here.

#3

@Roey and @NickOttens, the treatments should be (to the extent possible) available in an affordable form that is accessible to the broadest possible number of people. So, depending on what the treatment is, you might have, e.g., an over-the-counter supplement or tea at a lower dose, a prescription at a higher dose, and in-office or in-hospital treatment(s) at the highest cost and greatest/quickest effectiveness.

As an analogy, one system that follows this model is teeth whitening. Anyone can buy low-cost, lower-concentration products in the drugstore that take longer to work and have a subtler effect; you can get a higher-concentration at-home product from your dentist with periodic monitoring; you can have an in-office treatment at the dentist’s office; or you can get veneers if you are truly wanting/needing an expensive and permanent upgrade.

#4

We need a comprehensive public awareness and mobilization campaign…which is exactly what we are going to get…and it will be announced at the Ending Agre Related Diseases conference online next month. SENS and LEAF are both on board as advisors…I hope XPrize will join them!

#5

@markjayct - can you tell us more about the soon-to-be-announced campaign? It certainly sounds like what we need to create as well. Thank you!

#6

Thank you, @stephaniel ! Do you have any suggestions on how to make sure that the treatments are widely available?

#7

Roey–Not yet but very soon.

#8

Looking forward!

#9

Some thoughts on how to make treatments widely available:

  1. You’ll need to get the resounding buy-in of some broad class of doctors, ideally primary care providers. They would be your allies in offering the treatment, and information about it, to patients. They need to know: What are the benefits to them of offering these treatments? If the patient’s doctor doesn’t know about it, it isn’t happening for most people.

  2. Ideally most health insurance companies/national healthcare providers would cover the treatments. If they won’t, which seems likely initially, patients will need to be willing to pay for the treatments. So the treatments need to be at least somewhat cost-effective (they can’t cost $6,000 or even $1,000 at the entry level, though yes they can at the premium level). Which brings me to:

  3. Celebrities using the treatment - and seeing measurable results that are visible on-camera - can help a lot to increase patient demand and willingness to pay for various levels of the treatments.

I think the teeth whitening model really is a good analogy for age reversal. It is not covered by most dental insurance, yet due to dentist proselytizing and celebrities universally using it, with visible and dramatic results, it is widely available, reasonably affordable at the entry level, and has broad uptake by the general public.

#10

@sstrasser, @sully, can I ask you to weigh in here as well? Assuming a successful rejuvenation treatment is developed in this competition, what needs to happen to make it widely available?

@Longebility and @adampowell, you may also have insight on this question from an insurance perspective. Please join the discussion and let us know what you think!

#11

@Roey @NickOttens We need to promote these news with both political leaders and the general public. I propose to write a book about this for a wider international audience!

#12

@arshimehboob, @dcherry, @ChristineDiven, @enichols, @ntycom, @OnDigitalHealth, @NikolaiKirienko, I’d like to ask your advice on this question as well given your expertise in public health.

Assuming we successfully incentivize the development of an age reversal technology or treatment in an XPRIZE competition in the next few years, how could and should we ensure that it is widely adopted? What are the challenges you see? How could we overcome them?

#13

OK, so we didn’t quite get our act together for EARD due to health issues with our creative director. But I can tell you this: Along with Acutal Foods CEO Greg Grinberg, and accomplished author, screenwriter and film director S.D. Katz (author of the best selling film directing textbook of all time), we are planning a comprehensive public outreach and education campaign with a documentary, book, social media campaign and more. We anticipate doing this in partnership with LEAF and both Keith Comito and Aubrey de Grey have agreed to be advisors to the project. Stay tuned as we hope to have a major live kickoff even for fundraising in the next few weeks. The initiative is tentatively titled LIFE+.

#14

@NickOttens A quick look at magazine stands, TV lineups and news articles reveals that many people have an almost insatiable appetite for information pertaining to preventative healthcare. This barrage of information has been a key driver for consumer purchasing. Such marketing focuses on new product innovation and the enhanced effectiveness and safety of products, and it has successfully influenced a wide range of consumers at multiple touch points.
Consumers are increasingly relying on alternative channels to self-diagnose and to identify targeted health needs. A majority of people consult the internet both before and after their visits to doctors, to both inform their conversations with their physicians and validate medical advice after consultations. Additionally, as consumers become more educated, they are increasingly interested in personalized medical solutions and are leveraging online tools provided by retailers and manufacturers to create a personalized regimen.
Strong category growth is expected to continue amid both increased consumer interest in health and retailers’ efforts to position themselves as one-stop health and wellness destinations. Manufacturers will need to closely watch regulatory shifts and adjust accordingly in order to avoid consumer backlash or supply disruption due to product quality concerns. Yet taking on these challenges is well worth it. The expansion of the longevity and age reversal space throughout the next decade offers a unique opportunity for retailers and manufacturers to capitalize on a robust growth sector.