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XPRIZE has launched 30 prizes in 30 years... over $500M worth of incentive purses driving 30x value ($15 Billion). Amazing.
I’m often asked: “Which is your favorite XPRIZE?” No parent should have a “favorite” child, but after the original $10M Ansari XPRIZE for private spaceflight conceived of in 1994 and won in 2004, I have to say that the $101M XPRIZE Healthspan, launched just 6 months ago, is definitely an XPRIZE I LOVE!
The XPRIZE Foundation was founded to “inspire and guide entrepreneurs to solve grand challenges” – to elevate a problem and focus entrepreneurs worldwide to solve it, saying:
“I don’t care where you live, what you’ve done before, where you went to school... IF YOU SOLVE THIS CHALLENGE, you win the cash, and the world reaps the benefits.”
In short: XPRIZE is about solving grand challenges and giving the world hope.
In today’s blog, I’ll discuss the $101M XPRIZE Healthspan, its purpose and promise.
Let’s dive in…
Adding 20 Years of “Healthspan”
The stated goal of the $101M XPRIZE Healthspan is to add 20 healthy years of life. It’s a 7-year global competition to incentivize teams to develop and test therapeutics to improve healthy aging and close the gap between life and health expectancy.
Over the last century, global life expectancy has more than doubled, but the quality of our health has lagged by a 12-year gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy.
Lifespan means: How long your heart is beating.
Healthspan means: That period of life free of major chronic disease or disability.
Experts at London Business School, Oxford, and Harvard suggest that extending just one healthy year of life is worth $38 trillion to the global economy and extending healthy life by 10 years could net greater than $300 trillion.
With the world's population of people over 60 years of age expected to almost double from 12% to 22% between 2015 and 2050—or 1 in 5 people—there is an urgent need to find novel solutions for healthy aging.
“People around the world are living longer, but quality of life has not kept pace. By targeting aging with a single or combination of therapeutic treatments, it may be possible to restore function lost to age-related degradation of multiple organ systems.”
And an additional $10M FSHD Bonus Prize will be awarded to a team that demonstrates the ability to restore lost muscular function due to Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) in 1 year or less.
Chip Wilson, a dear friend and Founder and Chairman of SOLVE FSHD, Co-Title Sponsor of XPRIZE Healthspan, sums it up best:
“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. I believe it was the concept of ‘Why should I die with money?’ that inspired me to be part of this incredible venture.”
- Chip Wilson, CEO and Founder, SOLVE FSHD
Thus far the competition has ~300 teams, and I hope we’ll eventually get to 500+. We plan to give away $10M of the Prize Purse in about 1 year, another $10M in about 3 years, and the remaining $81M will await the winning teams.
If you are a biotech/health-tech company interested in competing, I URGE YOU to register. There is no downside, only upside. Go here to register: https://www.xprize.org/prizes/healthspan.
The competition is run by an extraordinary leader, Jamie Justice, PhD:
“By developing therapeutics that target biological aging rather than disease, we can revolutionize the way we think about and treat aging. If these trials are successful, we can prove that it is possible to improve health even as we age.”
- Jamie Justice, PhD, Exec. Director, XPRIZE Healthspan
This year I hope that Dr. Justice will give an update on the teams and the competition during our annual Platinum Longevity Trip. Many of the family offices who participate in the Platinum Trip have been benefactors of this competition alongside Chip Wilson, Hevolution Foundation, and myself.
Why This Matters
Creating a world of abundance isn’t about creating a world of luxury, it’s about creating a world of possibility.
We want to create a future we can be proud of.
Converging exponential technologies such as AI, epigenetics, gene therapy, cellular medicine, and sensors are allowing us to understand why we age—it’s time to revolutionize the way we age.
Working across all sectors, we can democratize health and create a future where healthy aging is accessible for everyone and full of potential.
Celebrating Women's Health and Leadership in the Healthspan Revolution
Want to learn about how to increase your healthspan while acknowledging the unique health concerns of women? And identify the top longevity-related investment opportunities available?
If yes, then consider joining me on my 2024 Platinum Longevity Trip.
I'm running two VIP trips I call my “Platinum Longevity Trip” covering top scientists, startups, labs, and CEOs in San Francisco and San Diego. I do the same trip twice for up to 40 participants: Sept. 11 - 15, 2024 or Oct. 9 - 13, 2024.
Each trip is a 5-Star/5-Day deep dive into the cutting-edge world of biotech/longevity and age-reversal.
As we celebrate National Women's Health Week, we recognize that women's health concerns need unique attention.
As Dr. Helen Messier, Chief Medical Officer of Fountain Life and a contributor to my recently published book Longevity, notes: “Simply put, women are different from men.”
So, when we're discussing longevity practices—everything from the basics like diet, exercise, and sleep to more advanced therapeutics—we need to be mindful of these differences.
During the Platinum Longevity Trip, we'll address these key concerns and also highlight some of the brilliant women who are helping to lead the healthspan revolution. You'll meet with extraordinary scientists, entrepreneurs, and leaders shaping the longevity landscape, including:
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Dr. Steffanie Strathdee: Harold Simon Distinguished Professor, UCSD – As the Harold Simon Distinguished Professor at UCSD and a TEDx speaker, Dr. Steffanie Strathdee is a world-renowned authority on phage research, reviving ancient remedies to combat modern superbugs.
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Dr. Catriona “Cat” Jamieson: Medicine Professor, UCSD – Embark on a cosmic quest with cancer stem cell expert Dr. Catriona 'Cat' Jamieson, whose 4 trials have transcended gravity and launched into space to unlock the mysteries of disease.
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Dr. Kristen Fortney: Founder & CEO, BioAge Labs – Chart a course through the frontiers of longevity with Dr. Kristen Fortney, the visionary CEO of BioAge Labs, who recently secured a monumental $140M Series D funding. Her mastery in computational biology is not just unraveling, but targeting the molecular intricacies of aging, propelling us towards a horizon where living a longer, healthier life is not just a possibility, but a palpable reality.
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Dr. Ashley Zehnder: Founder & CEO, Fauna Bio – The Founder & CEO of Fauna Bio, Dr. Zehnder is at the forefront of leveraging animal biology (such as hibernation and torpor) observations into solutions for human diseases, bringing a unique and impactful perspective to obesity and targeted drug discovery.
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Clarissa Chen: COO, Q.Bio – Clarissa Chen, COO of Q.Bio, will discuss how her company is disrupting full-body MRI and reducing scan time to a mere 10 minutes—a significant reduction from current-day 45-minute full-body MRI—while ensuring one's scan in a comfortable and open, non-claustrophobic space.
Both Trips are identical (capped at 40 participants per trip), during which I spend all 5 days with you as your private guide and provocateur. Through this personalized, action-packed program, my mission is to give you exclusive, first-hand exposure to the major players, scientists, companies, and treatments in the longevity and vitality arena.
Here's what you get:
- All your questions about longevity answered
- Early investment opportunities in extraordinary biotech startups
- First-hand insights into the latest longevity breakthroughs and research
- Early access to advanced diagnostics, state-of-the-art therapeutics
- Exclusive wellness experiences including HIIT/equipment workouts, wearable devices, meditation & breathwork
If you want to learn more about the Platinum Longevity Trip, go here, indicate your interest, and we'll set up an interview!
I discuss the latest developments in longevity on my podcast. Here’s a conversation I recently enjoyed:
A Statement From Peter:
My goal with this newsletter is to inspire leaders to play BIG. If that’s you, thank you for being here. If you know someone who can use this, please share it. Together, we can uplift humanity.
Topics: Abundance Entrepreneurship Abundance 360
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