Show Notes
What if we could add 20 healthy years to human life?
This episode is brought to you by AgelessRx, where aging becomes a puzzle that can be solved. The mission is to help you live longer and healthier by adding more life to your years through science-backed solutions and personalized care. Learn more at https://agelessrx.com/.
That’s the ambitious challenge behind the XPRIZE Healthspan competition, where 20 finalist teams are racing to find breakthroughs that could fundamentally change how we age. Driven by the moonshot vision championed by Peter Diamandis, the goal isn’t simply to live longer, it’s to preserve muscle, cognitive, and immune function as we get older.
In this episode, Jamie Justice takes us on a journey to better understand the XPRIZE competition as we take a closer look at Minicircle (Walter Patterson), Longeveron (Brian Rash), NYC Vita (Miriam Merad), Mitochondrial All Stars (David Brown), AgelessRx (Stefanie Morgan and Anar Isman), Ani.Ai (Bruno Balen), and Goqii (Vishal Gondal), exploring their very different approaches to extending healthy lifespan. From gene therapies and mitochondrial interventions to stem cells, AI-powered discoveries, and personalized health solutions, these teams are pushing longevity science into fascinating and largely uncharted territory.
Dr. Jamie Justice is a geroscience researcher and Executive Vice President of Health at XPRIZE, where she leads the organization’s efforts to accelerate breakthroughs in healthy aging.
⏱ Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:10 What Is the XPRIZE Competition? 04:09 Why XPRIZE Isn’t a Traditional Funding Program 05:37 The XPRIZE’s Approach to Innovation 08:27 Peter Diamandis on the XPRIZE Winner 08:54 Why the Moonshot Has to Be Daring 10:31 What Makes a Breakthrough Solution? 12:44 The Different XPRIZE Categories 13:54 Can More Teams Still Join? 15:24 Clinical Trials Must Finish by 2029 18:24 The Rise of AI Based Interventions 19:11 Unexpected Approaches to Healthspan 22:07 Minicircle: The Non Viral Plasmid DNA Vector
Minicircle 24:53 Why Minicircle’s Gene Therapy Approach Is Different 25:42 A Simpler Gene Therapy Platform 26:29 Why Plasmid Gene Therapy May Be Safer 28:57 The Challenges of Gene Therapy 30:39 Pushback Against Gene Therapy 33:04 The Future of Gene Therapy 34:18 How Teams Are Adapting 36:17 What It Takes to Reach the 20 Year Goal 37:17 No More New Teams in 2028 38:27 Why Some European Teams Are Struggling 40:56 Could Teams Merge to Move Forward? 42:07 Inside the Biologic Category
Longeveron 42:39 The Next Generation of Biologic Therapies 46:50 What Makes This Team Unique? 47:48 Engineering New Biologic Therapies 53:56 Building a Super Team for Healthspan Featured Team: Mitochondrial All Stars 57:28 The Role of Mitochondria in Aging 59:27 Specializing in Mitochondrial Health 01:00:48 The Power of a Multi Modal Team
NYC Vita 01:03:11 Combining Different Approaches to Aging 01:06:37 Sharing Data Across Teams 01:08:50 Why Collaboration Could Change the Game 01:13:33 A Novel Drug Target for Aging
AgelessRX 01:14:59 A Strategic Approach to Intervention 01:15:52 Can We Achieve 20 Years of Rejuvenation? 01:17:18 The Chemical Combination 01:22:12 The Science Behind the Approach 01:22:46 The Potential of NAD+ 01:23:58 Why Japanese Teams Stand Out 01:26:18 The $100 Million Incentive 01:28:10 Inside the Drug Category 01:31:57 Can We Add Healthy Life in One Year?
Ani.Ai 01:32:49 Healthy Life in Just One Year 01:33:22 The Antibiome Approach 01:36:52 What the Future of Healthspan Could Look Like 01:38:37 The Best Piece of Advice
Connect with Jamie Website: https://www.xprize.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/j.n.justice/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-justice-ph-d-6b933146 X: https://x.com/j_n_justice The Teams: Minicircle: https://minicircle.io/ Longeveron: https://longeveron.com/ NYC Vita: https://www.mountsinai.org/ AgelessRX: https://agelessrx.com/ Ani.Ai: https://www.ani.ai/ Goqii: https://goqii.com/us-en
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