Dr Tobias Reichmuth talks taking hardcore science to market without biotech approval risk and the catalyst that is translational research.
We were lucky enough to attend the Longevity Investors Conference last month; this key event attracts those interested in learning about longevity investment opportunities and finding out more about the exciting directions in which the field is accelerating. To put it succinctly, as MIT Tech Review did recently, LIC “brings academic scientists and biotech companies together with deep-pocketed investors. We’re talking millionaires and billionaires.”
Longevity.Technology: One of the driving forces behind the Longevity Investors Conference is Dr Tobias Reichmuth; a company-builder since the age of 21, Reichmuth has invested in more than 20 startups and is one of the founding partners of Maximon, the longevity company building. Along with his Maximon colleague Marc P Bernegger, Reichmuth launched the Longevity Investors Conference, and we couldn’t pass up the chance to grab some time with him to discuss the current longevity market. Check out what he had to say in our video below.
Tobias Reichmuth on…
Longevity investments and interventions – now is the right time
When it comes to the longevity, I would say the market starts now. Of course, you can do a lot of things for your longevity, but what we see now is translational research being put into products and companies. So both from a consumer, but also from an investor perspective, I think it’s the right time to start with longevity – investments and interventions.
Opportunities in the longevity ecosystem
We try to avoid the classic biotech risk. so we wouldn’t go into, say, molecule discovery and go through all the stages until FDA approval – which takes 10-15 years and costs a fortune – and it’s still kind of digital whether it works out or not. That’s a risk we don’t want to take!
We have given ourselves three parameters when building a longevity company:
- Must have longevity impact and be science-based
- Be able to produce a turnover within 5 years – this excludes drug discover
- Scalability – can this become unicorn, is it a scalable product or service.
Interventions on the way
I see a lot of potential in what we are doing our microbiome case, although validation is still needed. We hope to open a company by the end of the year in skin rejuvenation – a biological way to change the pigmentation of skin cells. While this was originally thought to be a purely cosmetic approach, researchers found out the work rejuvenated skin cells. It’s hardcore bioscience, but we first go the cosmetic route – avoiding the biotech approval risk – and then later it could potentially become a medicament.
Check out more of our coverage on Longevity Investors Conference HERE or register your interest for the 2023 conference HERE.
