XPrize Aims At Ways To Extend Human Lifespan

A total of 101 million dollars is up for grabs in the 7-year XPrize Healthspan competition announced late last year. Its stated goal is to inspire invention to develop therapies and technologies to add 20 years to our average global 73.4-year lifespan. That’s two years younger than me which means I have beaten the average. When this competition ends I will be 82 and may be able to take advantage of the advances in elderly health management it unveils. I could reach 100 if it delivers on its promise.

The idea of this XPrize is to find ways to improve how we age, closing “the gap between life and health expectancy.” That quote comes from Peter Diamandis, Founder and XPrize Executive Chairman. Peter has argued in his many newsletters and editorials that adding decades to healthy living could be the greatest gift to humanity making 100 the new 60. He believes what is lagging in our extended lifespans today is quality. XPrize wants to deliver a life free of major chronic diseases and disability that make the aged contributors to society rather than societal burdens.

Peter cites data gathered by The London Business School, Oxford and Harvard University researchers who have calculated that extending the lifespan of humans by one healthy year is worth US $38 trillion to the global economy. Extending it by 10 is worth more than $300 trillion.

Humanity is growing. Since 2000, we have added almost 2 billion more of us to the planet. Most of this growth has happened in the Developing World, because of medical advances and better food and nutrition. But in the Developed World, it isn’t the young that represent the biggest population segment. In Europe, for example, the share of the population 65 or over represented just under 20% in 2020, and is expected to rise to 25.6% by 2050. Lower birth rates and increased life expectancy drive this growth. Globally those aged 65 or over will represent a larger share of the population, rising from 9.3% in 2020 to 16.0% by 2050. By 2050, 2 billion of us will be 65 or over. That’s 1 in 5.

The question of our quality of life as we age, therefore, is pertinent because ageing today comes with health challenges. The World Health Organization lists many common health conditions that accompany ageing. These include:

• hearing loss
• cataracts and refractive errors
• back and neck pain
• osteoarthritis
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• diabetes
• depression
• delirium and dementia
• frailty
• urinary incontinence
• falling
• pressure ulcers and bed sores.

Many elderly experience several of these. I, for one, suffer hearing loss and now use hearing aids. I have cataracts and corneal problems but they are not too vision-compromising. Other than COVID-19 damaging my heart,  and osteoarthritis leading to knee replacement surgery, I have been very fortunate.

For many elderly, there are pharmaceutical and therapeutic answers to ageing that include over-the-counter and prescriptive medications and supplements, and all kinds of devices designed to allow us to live with chronic conditions. But there are limits to achieving healthy, productive extra years of life. Peter argues, “People around the world are living longer, but quality of life has not kept pace. By targeting ageing with a single or combination of treatments, it may be possible to restore function lost to age-related degradation of multiple organ systems.” He notes as well that ageing without good health puts an enormous economic burden on society.

The XPrize began in 1994.  A $10 million prize was to be given to the first company to launch two humans into suborbital flight twice in two weeks. Scaled Composites was one of 25 companies that set out to win the $10 million. They won with SpaceshipOne. For those who didn’t win, they continued to build and innovate and today we have a burgeoning commercial space industry.

Since that first contest, 30 different prizes have been offered covering a wide range of challenges including cash rewards for innovative solutions that deal with carbon removal, biodiversity and rainforest conservation, ocean health, education, energy, quantum computing and more.

XPrize Healthspan is aimed at living healthier lives with competing teams challenged to develop methodologies and therapeutics that can extend life by restoring muscle, cognition, and immune function. The minimum target is extending our healthy lives by 10 years. The maximum is 20.

Healthspan has included a bonus $10 million prize sponsored by Solve FSHD, a foundation focused on restoring muscular function lost because of Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD). The deadline to win it is one year. Chip Wilson, the Founder and Chairman of SOLVE FSHD states, “​​It does not make any sense to have a long lifespan without being healthy. I can think of no better place to spend my money than to extend the life of myself and the rest of the planet.”

Approximately 300 teams have signed up to compete with $10 million to be awarded after one year, $10 million more after three, and the remaining $81 million to the winning teams after seven. States Jamie Justice, the Executive Director of the Healthspan Prize, “By developing therapeutics that target biological ageing rather than disease, we can revolutionize the way we think about and treat ageing. If these trials are successful, we can prove that it is possible to improve health even as we age.”

The finalists will conduct 1-year clinical trials with a balance of men and women aged 65 to 80, with a mix of racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. The subjects should be generally in good health and free of major chronic disease or disability but are experiencing mild age-related declines in function such as slower walking speeds, difficulty in getting up from chairs, or mild memory and cognition changes.

The goal of the prize is to develop novel therapeutic solutions that can be drugs, biologics, devices, nutritional supplements, and dietary intervention approaches, alone or in combination. The drugs can be new or medicines already approved for use to prevent or treat other chronic conditions including statins, anti-diabetes drugs like Metformin, chemotherapeutics like Dasatinib, or drugs being used to treat Alzheimer’s. Entrants may submit novel solutions not covered by the above list.

Peter talks about creating a world of abundance. Abundance he notes isn’t just about creating a world of luxury, but also about creating a world of possibility. Converging exponential technologies such as artificial intelligence, epigenetics, gene therapy, cellular medicine, and sensors to help us understand why we age, through the XPrize Healthspan will help to revolutionize the way we age.