Helping people live longer, healthier lives
The last century has witnessed remarkable advancements in the average lifespan in most countries globally. People are living longer now than almost ever before. However, what if we could even further extend human longevity and enhance overall well-being? And more importantly: how?
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Problem
From the ancients tales of the Fountain of Youth to modern scientific advancements, the quest for longevity has been a perennial dream of humanity. And now, in the 21st century, we find ourselves at a point where this dream is becoming more and more of a reality.
One of the most remarkable accomplishments of the 20th century was the astounding advancement in global average life expectancy. In the year 1900, the average life expectancy at birth stood at a mere 32 years. By the year 2021, the average life expectancy figure had soared to an impressive nearly 73 years, driven by vaccines, advancements in medicine and antibiotics.
Opinions within the scientific community vary regarding the potential for a continuously increasing maximum human lifespan. However, statistical modelling suggests that it is plausible for a lifespan of 130 years to be achievable by the year 2100.
In recent years, there has been a new wave of longevity startups, aiming to push the boundaries of our life expectancy even further. These startups aim to increase the amount of time we live, but also aim to improve the quality of our lives in our latter years.
Bryan Johnson, a tech entrepreneur, has gained a huge amount of attention for his ambitious goal of reversing the aging process. Altos Labs, with Jeff Bezos as an investor, is exploring biological reprogramming technology to rejuvenate lab cells, which scientists believe may revitalize whole animal bodies and potentially extend human life.
There are also less out-there approaches to increasing our life expectancy. Research is piling up on the effect of everything from diet, exercise, sleep and even more abstract concepts such as happiness have on our life expectancy. Startups tackling these issues are just as important as the healthtech startups in this space.
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Bottlenecks to improving longevity
Longevity startups are currently in vogue. Investment dollars are flowing towards them in the millions, and celebrity interest is keeping the idea front-and-center in tabloid newspapers.
Prominent investors like Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos, and Peter Thiel have invested substantial amounts, totaling billions of dollars, in ventures focused on the pursuit of longevity and extending human lifespan.
Dr. David Sinclair, a Harvard biologist and longevity expert, argues we are currently still in the early stages of longevity research.
Scientists and researchers are delving into various aspects to uncover the underlying mechanisms and develop interventions to extend healthy lifespan. These startups mostly focus on different types of cell therapy: focusing on senescent cell elimination, gene editing and stem cell therapy.
Some of this research might sound as if straight from the pages of a science fiction novel, however some health-tech however are focusing on a different, more traditional approach: developing new drugs for existing diseases and focusing on early detection and treatment of life-shortening diseases.
How do we unlock drug development and medical treatments to improve longevity?
1. Develop new effective drugs
The process of creating new drugs is an expensive and unpredictable journey, with numerous potential drugs failing to reach the market. In fact, a mere 12 percent of the drugs that enter clinical trials ultimately receive approval for introduction by the FDA.
What this means is that we do not have all the necessary drugs to treat the diseases shortening our life span. Startups are leading the charge in changing this.
One company looking to upend the drug manufacturing industry is Enveda (ODF3). Enveda has raised $175M in their quest to translate nature into medicine. Enveda believes that nature holds the great untapped potential for new drug discovery and that nature-based medicines are far more likely to succeed in human trials.
Loyal, which received investment from the On Deck fund, is another company dedicated to developing groundbreaking drugs that aim to enhance the lifespan and overall health of dogs. Their mission underscores the recognition of the importance of extending lifespan and improving well-being not just for humans but also for our animal companions.
Talus Bio (ODF5) is similarly currently trying to produce therapeutics for previously undruggable cancer targets.
2. Early disease diagnosis and monitoring
Early disease diagnosis plays a pivotal role in promoting longevity by enabling timely intervention and treatment. By closely monitoring individuals for the early signs and symptoms of diseases, healthcare providers can identify potential health issues before they progress into more severe conditions. It is also essential for support to be offered after diagnosis to ensure treatments are being correctly administered and are effective.
WellTheory, an ODF3 company, is on a mission to create a membership experience that supports women throughout their autoimmune journey by integrating food as medicine, community care, and personalized insights from health data.
Butterfly Network develops handheld, pocket-sized ultrasound devices that enable users to perform ultrasound scans conveniently and cost-effectively. These devices provide real-time imaging, allowing for early detection of various medical conditions.
A properly functioning healthcare system is one of the key elements to improving both lifespan and healthspan. Accessible and affordable healthcare allows individuals to address health concerns early, preventing potential complications and promoting a longer and healthier life.
When studying the increases in human life expectancy, medical breakthroughs and well-functioning healthcare systems are instrumental. Vaccines, germ theory and the rise of antibiotics are all considered key elements in the rise of life expectancy, but would be impossible to have an impact without a functioning healthcare system underpinning it.
How do we unlock the healthcare system to improve longevity?
1. Modernize healthcare coverage
There are new and exciting ways we can make healthcare more accessible and efficient. Implementing electronic health records and health information exchange systems can improve the coordination and accessibility of patient information across healthcare providers. This enables more efficient care, reduces errors, and allows for data-driven decision-making.
Artificial intelligence can also play a key role - analyzing large volumes of data, identifying patterns, and providing insights for personalized medicine and predictive analytics. Advancements in telemedecine have also enabled remote consultations and monitoring of patients, especially in rural or underserved areas.
Loop Health (ODF2) is an innovative healthcare provider in India that is modernising that country’s approach to healthcare. Their approach integrates streamlined clinics with convenient telemedicine services, and the traditional coverage for hospital treatments.
Capable Health is another company helping digitize and streamline the entire healthcare process, helping healthcare provider a seamless digital experience for patients.
Amrit Singh is the Co-Founder of Loop Health, the fastest-growing health insurance startup in India. We discuss the incentives from medical aids to keep their clients healthy, and much more.
2. Improve the drug testing process
The drug development is a key step in improving health and lifespan. However, it is currently an incredibly expensive process, and time-consuming process.
Some of this is unavoidable, due to the rigorous testing drugs have to undergo to make it to the market, but there are also ways this process can be improved and streamlined.
An excellent example is a startup such as Castor - which is reducing barriers to patient studies for medical trials - making them faster and decentralized. Their software allows patients to join trials via a mobile app, and share their data in the same manner. This software has hugely reduced the complexity of running medical trials.
Labfront is another company at the forefront of streamlining the data capture and analysis process for research purposes. Their primary focus revolves around enhancing data collection, streamlining adherence management, and expediting analysis processes. All these aspects are consolidated within a user-friendly research platform, providing a comprehensive solution.
Your diet is one of the key factors that determine longevity. Numerous studies have been conducted to explore the relationship between diet and lifespan, and several dietary patterns have been associated with increased longevity and a reduced risk of chronic diseases.
Studies conducted on animals have demonstrated that lifelong caloric restriction, including practices like intermittent fasting, can extend lifespan. Through fasting, the body exhibits enhanced regulation of blood glucose, increased stress resistance, reduced inflammation, and decreased production of harmful free radicals. Fasting also facilitates the removal or repair of damaged molecules within cells.
These effects have the potential to mitigate the onset of chronic conditions, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease.
The World Economic Forum found that by transitioning to a nutrition plan that emphasizes the consumption of nuts, legumes, whole grains, and a reduction in red or processed meats, young adults have the potential to increase their life expectancy by more than a decade.
1. Get better insights into your nutrition
One company tackling the issue head-on is Levels, an ODF2 company. Improving health begins with making better decisions, and gaining deeper insight into your own body is crucial for achieving that goal.
The Levels app harnesses the power of biosensors like continuous glucose monitors to provide real-time feedback on how your dietary and lifestyle choices directly impact your metabolic health.
By utilizing personalized data, Level members are inspired to make genuine behavior changes and discover optimal diets, maintain weight control, and reduce long-term health risks.
2. Personalize your nutrition
The required nutrition is individual, and there are different requirements and needs for every person.
Habit offers personalized nutrition plans based on an individual's unique biology, goals, and lifestyle. Users receive a kit to measure their specific metabolic markers, and Habit uses that data to create personalized meal plans and recommendations.
Rootine, which was recently featured on The Deep End, is also focused on optimizing health and performance through precision nutrition. Their approach involves looking at hundreds of data points to identify your nutritional deficiencies and sending you tailored supplements to optimize your health, along with a way to track if it's working.
3. Make healthier foods more accessible
Making healthy foods more affordable can remove financial barriers that prevent individuals from purchasing nutritious options. A few startups are innovating in this space.
Hungry Harvest is a subscription-based produce delivery service that rescues "ugly" or surplus fruits and vegetables and delivers them to customers' homes. Their mission is to reduce food waste and provide affordable access to fresh produce while supporting local farmers and food banks.
Exercise has a profound effect on longevity and overall health. Numerous studies have demonstrated the positive impact of regular physical activity on extending lifespan and reducing the risk of chronic diseases.
Studies conducted on 6 000 adults at Brigham Young University found about a 9-year difference in cell aging between people who were active versus those who were inactive.
The American Heart Association recommends adults get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic exercise, or a combination of both.
Another new study has shed light on how good exercise actually can be. According to their findings doing the minimum recommended exercise reduced the risk of early death by as much as 21%. Exercising two to four times the minimum were able to lower the risk by as much as 31%.
How do we improve exercise to unlock longevity?
1. Bring the gym home
Finding the time to visit a gym can be challenging, especially for those with family and work responsibilities.
MAGIC is an ODF6 start-up that was founded with the aim to provide the gym experience at home. They use computer vision cameras, connected weights and 3D sensors to deliver strength training hyper-personalized to your body type. Their smart gym replaces a human personal trainer with AI technology and provides instant response feedback in real-time to your movement and workout.
By leveraging technology, data analytics, and innovative approaches, MAGIC aims to make exercise more accessible, enjoyable, and integrated into people's lives.
2. Cultivate a sense of community
Community plays a key role in keeping you motivated in exercise, and by making exercise a social and enjoyable endeavor. This is especially true when exercising alone.
Strava is a workout sharing fitness social network platform for professional and beginner athletes where they share their collective fitness experience. Users upload all their exercise efforts - from a walk around the block to races in the Tour de France. With the app users can track and analyze every aspect of their activity, measure performance and connect and share their experience. Strava has raised over $151M in funding.
Strava allows users to share their exercise achievements, progress, and milestones with their peers. This sharing of accomplishments creates a positive feedback loop, generating encouragement and recognition from others, which further motivates individuals to continue their exercise journey.
3. Make exercise more efficient
By making exercise more efficient, individuals can achieve significant health benefits in less time. Knowing that you can get an effective workout in a shorter duration can make exercise seem more feasible and attractive.
This was the approach of the fitness startup F45. Their approach of short 45-minute classes in an engaging group setting was designed to help individuals get in their daily exercise requirements in a short span of time.
4. Improve incentives
Improving incentives can be an effective way to increase exercise participation by providing individuals with added motivation and rewards. Gamification, cash rewards, coupons and discounts have all been used to get people moving and keep them moving.
The most avid supporter of this approach has been medical insurance companies, eager to prevent the health issues that come from a lack of exercise.
Loop Health (ODF2) Co-founder Amrit Singh recently explained this approach on The Deep End.
Sleep plays a crucial role in overall health and well-being, and it has been scientifically linked to longevity. When you sleep, your body does not shut down. It stays busy with multiple tasks that are necessary to keep you performing optimally. Sleep helps to restore, repair and renew cells, tissues and organs, and in that way supports the immune system.
It also helps the brain to clear out toxins that can build up during the day, assisting with memory and learning. It has been shown that poor sleep, or untreated sleep disorders, can increase the risk for Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Various factors influence the amount of sleep needed. Sleeping between seven to eight hours a night seems to be ideal for most adults, with teenagers and children generally sleeping more. Activity levels and health issues also influence your sleep. But not getting enough sleep can have serious consequences.
Research also showed that sleeping less than 6 hours a night increases the chances of a car crash by 33%, while 9% of all motor vehicle accidents can be attributed to people sleeping less than seven hours a night.
Research presented at the American College of Cardiology stated that about 8% of deaths from any cause could be attributed to poor sleep patterns.
How do we improve sleep to unlock longevity?
1. Improve your sleep environment
The sleep environment plays a crucial role in determining the quality of your sleep, with temperature, light and noise levels and comfort all playing an important role.
Bryte is one such start-up that is using what they call restorative sleep technology in their artificial intelligence-connected and robotics-powered bed to ensure an optimal sleep experience - recently raising a $24M Series A round.
Pzizz is another app that creates music that helps users to not only fall asleep, but stay asleep. Listening time can be set, while sounds can be personalized.
2. Monitor your sleep
Monitoring your sleep allows you to assess the quality and duration of your sleep, and pick up on sleep disorders.
The Eight Sleep mattress is an excellent tool for this. It is designed to track and analyze sleep patterns, providing insights into sleep quality, duration, and other metrics. It incorporates sensors and technology that monitor biometrics, including heart rate, respiratory rate, and movement during sleep.
Sleepio is an online sleep improvement programme, aimed at people that battle with insomnia. It helps with personalized goal setting, includes a detailed sleep diary, and helps track user’s progress over time.
According to Harvard, two of the key factors influencing longevity are abstaining from smoking and maintaining moderate alcohol consumption.
Smoking is a significant risk factor for cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, lung diseases, and premature mortality. It promotes chronic inflammation and oxidative stress in the body. Men who were current heavy smokers have the lowest disease-free life expectancy.
Moderate alcohol consumption may be associated with a lower risk of certain health conditions, such as heart disease and ischemic stroke. On the other hand, excessive alcohol consumption is associated with the risks of addiction, liver disease, and various types of cancer.
How do we reduce harmful habits to unlock longevity?
1. Quit smoking
There’s no way around it. The effect of smoking on your longevity is so severe, quiting is the only solution.
Quit Genius is an app-based program that provides support and personalized plans to help you quit smoking. It offers cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques, motivational tools, and a community for support and guidance.
2. Monitor alcohol intake
Alcohol intake can be a net positive if done carefully, and with proper moderation.
Sunnyside: Sunnyside is an app that helps individuals moderate or quit their alcohol consumption. It offers personalized coaching, daily challenges, progress tracking, and supportive content to assist users in achieving their goals.
Startups have also jumped in to design non-alcoholic beer options - to allow people the pleasures of drinking without the harmful consequences. Athletic Brewing, for example, is on a mission to create satisfying non-alcoholic beers that cater to individuals looking for healthier lifestyle choices, including those who are sober, health-conscious, or simply prefer non-alcoholic options.
According to a study conducted by Harvard, there are eight social factors that have been found to predict mortality within the next four years. These factors include absence of volunteering activities, feelings of isolation, and experiencing less courtesy or respect in social interactions.
Research has also shown that having a sense of meaning or purpose in daily life is associated with better sleep, healthier weight, higher physical activity levels, and lower inflammation in some people.
A study of 11,302 older participants found that those who experienced persistent loneliness had a 57% increased risk of early death compared with those who never experienced loneliness; those who were socially isolated had a 28% increased risk.
How do we improve mental health to unlock longevity?
1. Increase access to therapy
Therapy is often an important resource for those struggling with loneliness and feelings of hopelessness.
ODF5 company, Grow Therapy, empowers independent therapists to build and expand successful in-network private practices. By relieving therapists from tedious administrative tasks like billing and insurance claims, therapists can lower costs and focus on delivering care to the communities.
2. Early diagnoses of mental illness
Ensuring mental illness is picked up as soon as possible is instrumental in ensuring its successful treatment. However, due to waiting lists and budgetary constraints this is not always straight-forward.
ODF5 alum Grace Chang experienced the pain of waiting many months to schedule an appointment with a mental health professional, let alone actually speak to someone. So she built Kintsugi, a voice biomarker technology that detects anxiety and depression with an incredible 80% accuracy from just 20 seconds of free-form speech.
Non-natural deaths that could have been prevented significantly influence overall life expectancy and longevity. Incidents such as homicides, road accidents, and suicides have a profound impact on life expectancy.
In the United States, the primary cause of death for individuals aged 1 to 44 years old is unintentional injuries. This category encompasses opioid overdoses, motor vehicle accidents, and accidental falls.
Furthermore, suicide has become the second leading cause of death within the 1 to 44 age group, and the number of suicides continues to rise. Homicide remains among the top five leading causes of death for individuals aged 1 to 44.
How do we overcome design challenges?
1. Driving assistance
Advanced Driving assistance systems are making significant progress in reducing preventable car accidents.
One study found that the universal employment of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems in the UK would reduce the road accident frequency in the UK by 23.8%, representing an annual decrease of 18,925 accidents.
Phantom AI is one such startup that specializes in developing artificial intelligence software and technology for autonomous vehicles. They focus on creating advanced perception systems that enable vehicles to "see" and understand their surroundings, similar to how humans use their senses to navigate and make decisions. The company has raised more than $80M.
2. Predict potential harms
One way to avoid non-natural death arising from natural disasters, such as fires, floods, earthquakes and storms is to give people in the area pre-warning to evacuate. This same is true for crime hotspots.
Augurisk is one startup that uses algorithms and data analysis techniques to analyze and predict potential risks associated with different areas such as crime, storms, floods, wildfires, earthquakes and climate emergencies. By leveraging historical data and statistical models, Augurisk allows users to identify vulnerabilities and develop strategies to mitigate and minimize their potential impact.
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