Our Editor-in-Chief, Phil Newman, addresses why Longevity will become the biggest opportunity of our time.

Welcome to Day 1: Longevity.Technology

Healthcare has already migrated from ‘cure’ to ‘intervention’ and will ultimately move to ‘prevention’. These new states: intervention and prevention, succinctly describe Longevity.

Prevention of disease + early intervention to cure disease + technology to enhance wellness (healthspan) = Longevity (lifespan)

Do you want to die?
Ask this question and the vast majority of people will, of course, answer ‘no.’ Who wants to miss-out on their family, their cherished pastime, amazing vacations, the next book from their favourite author or the next film in the Star Wars saga?

Would you like to live forever?
Well, now that’s ridiculous. Nobody will live forever – right? Well, it’s a stretch, but there are some who feel that mankind will very soon achieve ‘escape velocity’ and out-smart death. At Longevity.Technology we don’t expend too much time on wonder-pills and sublimation into the cloud, but ignoring the extremes of longevity thinking isn’t sensible either.

OK, would you like a long and healthy life?
Well yes, of course. As long as you can live independently, free of debilitating disease and not be a burden to others – while also having enough money to live in the way you’ve become accustomed to – who wouldn’t?

The perfect (long) life: Welcome to ‘healthspan’ – your new buzzword
So, the ultimate life plan: good health, positive lifestyle, sound financial planning – get these perfectly-timed and you’re all-set for a successful long-life. As a reader of this piece, you’re probably in a demographic that possesses a reasonable plan for all three; there are many others in our society that don’t.

The gathering storm
In Japan, a country well-known for its demographic imbalance, a phrase has emerged that refers to problems caused by the elderly: rogai. The young say they feel burdened and crushed under the weight of the old. This is a global problem. With 71 million Americans being 65 years old or older by 2030, longevity needs addressing. Positively. 

We can either view this as a ticking demographic time-bomb, producing generational conflict as the old grasp to justify their existence and comfortable finances to the young. Or we take this as a huge investment opportunity in a sector that’s attracting increasing levels of capital and support citizens in their old age to be net contributors: the Longevity dividend. What’s our call?

So, what is longevity?
At Longevity.Technology we have a simple phrase displayed in our offices to define Longevity:

“Technologies that extend life and maintain or improve the quality of that extended life.” 

Longevity differs from normal healthcare (with its focus on curing specific diseases and conditions) by its focus on overcoming the wear and tear of aging – to live well and delay death.

Longevity: the new investment category
Remember when every company that was in financial software suddenly became a fintech company? Fast-forward a few years from now and it will be the same with Longevity. Age-tech, still (ironically) in its youth as an industry, but Longevity is wider and the opportunities are deeper.

The advent of new and accelerating technologies such as Senolytics, Stem-Cells, AI, CRISPR, Bioprinting and Gene-therapy are already combining. Longevity is coming, and so are the investment risks and rewards.

For the Longevity.Technology team, our mission is to deliver news and insights on the technologies and investment opportunities that drive the Longevity agenda.

Thanks for your interest and do join us for daily news and regular reports.
PHIL NEWMAN
Editor-in-Chief
Longevity.Technology