2024: The Inflection Point in Longevity and Preventative Health

Exploring the Pivotal Trends and Drivers of Preventative Health and Longevity in 2024

Hi everyone,

As we start 2024, I find myself reflecting on the importance of health. Wishing good health may seem like a common “new year” greeting, but it's never been more meaningful than in today's context: we've never been sicker, in both body and mind. Consider these sobering facts:

• 6/10 Americans live with a chronic disease. Global diabetes cases, especially among the youth, are soaring, with projections reaching 1.3 billion cases by 2050. There’s a dramatic rise in cancer in people under 50yo.

• 1/5 of adults live with a mental illness, 20% of our youth will experience severe mental illness before age 18. And so on, and so on.

Yet, our health is the foundation enabling us to face not only our individual challenges but also the broader challenges our society is facing today: only in good health will we be able to tackle the many crisis that lie ahead - climate, economic, politics, and technological, including those brought on by AI. So, being healthy is more important than ever, and that’s what I wish you for the year ahead.

As we step into 2024, the signs are becoming increasingly clear: we are on the cusp of a major shift in how we approach health and wellness. I'm incredibly excited to deepen my commitment to the fields of longevity and preventative health this year – as an entrepreneur, advisor, investor (if you’re interested in collaborating, reach out!) and through this newsletter. Speaking of which, I’d love to hear from you on one thing: how can I improve this newsletter? Would you prefer more industry insights, practical health tips, or a blend of both? My favorite reads of the week? What's your ideal frequency - weekly or bi-weekly? Feel free to send me your feedback.

Now, onto content.

Longevity has never captured consumer interest as much as now. If you've been keeping up with the news or podcasts, you might have observed a significant increase in media coverage on the topic, just in the last 2 months: from Netflix’s “Secrets of the Blue Zones” docu-series, to special editions in The Economist or Bloomberg, to Peter Attia’s “Medicine 3.0” book ranking NYT bestseller for 40 weeks in a row, and Vanity Fair’s salty portrait of Bryan Johnson: Longevity is everywhere.

This is not a cultural fad: longevity and preventative health are going mainstream, and 2024 will mark an inflection point. In this article, we dissect the key trends behind this movement.

Factor #1 - Human Optimization and Longevity, The Next Frontier of Wellness

Influencers and specialized media, new technologies, and an array of new brands and services are making human optimization and longevity mainstream: wellness is expanding beyond physical health to include mental, emotional, and holistic well-being, the next frontier is longevity.

• Longevity Influencers & Biohackers: A new breed of health and wellness influencers has emerged, using podcasts and digital platforms to spread awareness and knowledge about personal health optimization - democratizing topics that were once confined to academic and clinical circles. These influencers include doctors-turned-media gurus Peter Attia and Andrew Huberman, mainstream podcasters such as Tim Ferris, Rich Roll, and Lex Fridman, who are increasing their content focus towards health, and celebrity biohackers like Bryan Johnson. Their collective influence is driving a cultural shift towards proactive, preventative health.

Andrew Huberman’s Podcast ranked #3 globally in 2023 (source)

• Wearables: Whoop, Eight Sleep, Apollo Neuro, Base, Oura Ring, and Apple are paving the way for a new era of human optimization: by providing users with real-time data on a range of biomarkers, they are playing a crucial role in empowering individuals to make informed decisions about their lifestyle and habits, reinforcing a culture of accountability and personal responsibility for health.

• New breed of wellness brands, products and services: From longevity supplement brands like Elysium Health to new health optimization & longevity centers like NextHealth, we’re seeing an explosion of products and services that support this optimization-focused lifestyle. This emergence of a whole new vertical of wellness brands is not just about selling goods; it's about providing the tools, resources, and community needed for individuals to take charge of their health.

Factor #2 - Preventative Care Is The Future of Healthcare

People are living longer, but with more health issues - resulting in soaring costs and significant strain on our healthcare systems. The shift from reactive 'sick care' to proactive 'preventative care' is widely recognized as inevitable by health sector stakeholders, including governments and insurers.

Our public healthcare systems are just starting to adapt to this new paradigm, burdened by their unadapted structures and systems of incentive. But there are emerging signs of a broader shift, and innovation from the private sector (esp. in the US) is driving this transformation:

• Preventative Health Public Policy: In various countries, particularly in the US, governments are advancing more comprehensive preventative health policies. A prime example is their "Healthy People 2030" initiative, which sets out data-driven national objectives to enhance health and well-being over the coming decade. Similarly, France's 'Health Innovation Plan 2030' endowed with 7.5 billion Euros, encompasses a series of preventative health initiatives scheduled to commence this year.

• New Preventative Health Offerings - An increasing number of private companies are emerging to meet the soaring “consumer” demand for personalized, and preventative medicine and to democratize the latest innovations in the space: these include next-gen longevity clinics like Fountain Life offering advanced diagnostics and therapeutics, innovative direct-to-consumer disease screening by companies like Prenuvo and Neko Health, and direct-to-consumer advanced blood testing by companies like Inside Tracker or Function Health.
  In parallel, traditional medicine is adapting to this trend, with a new generation of concierge doctors integrating preventative care into their practices, and new primary care practices emerging with a preventative care approach, like Forward.

“The healthcare and wellness industries are colliding. People want data-driven, personalized, and proactive care, and the world is racing to keep up. What we’ve seen with the longevity and personalized medicine excitement is just a sliver of what’s to come. Healthcare of the future will look very different and more proactive.”

-  Tara Viswanathan, CEO and co-founder of Rupa Health (source)

Factor #3 The Data & AI Revolution is Catalyzing Breakthroughs in and Preventative Health

Rapid advancements in AI and data analysis are poised to revolutionize healthcare, from drug development to ultra-personalized care programs, and make personalized, preventative health the norm. This revolution is evident in several key areas:

• AI-Driven Drug Discovery and Development: AI is revolutionizing drug discovery, development, and clinical trial processes for age-related diseases and conditions that significantly affect lifespan. AI platforms like Deepmind’s spin off Isomorphic Labs are now able to predict biochemical structures, accelerating the creation of new drugs. The goal is to shorten the drug discovery phase – the stage before clinical trials – from the traditional five years to a markedly reduced timeframe.

• Preventative Health, Early Detection and Diagnosis: The explosion of data, coupled with AI's enhanced data analysis capabilities, is yielding deeper insights into disease patterns and risk factors. This leads to improved risk stratification and the development of personalized, predictive health plans. Data and AI innovations are also transforming early disease detection with new technology making image and blood-based diagnostics faster, more accurate, and universally accessible. A prime example is Prenuvo - which offers a next-gen full body disease screening in under 50 min.

  

  Prenuvo’s Full Body MRI (source)

• Synthetic Data and Open-Source Models: The emergence of high-fidelity, privacy-preserving synthetic data models in healthcare (like Google’s recent EHR-safe) and the proliferation of open-source models dedicated to the field are poised to drive further advances in AI-based discovery, diagnostics, and personalized medicine. In 2024, the trend towards open-source and specialized models is expected to continue, broadening the horizons for AI's application in healthcare.

Factor #4 - Aging, A New Biotech Vertical

Longevity is gaining momentum in biotech, with the rise of “longevity biotechs” – a group of companies dedicated to developing therapies and drugs that target the key biological mechanisms of aging, known as the "Hallmarks of Aging," as well as the root causes of aging-related diseases.

"We’re at an amazing time in the development of biotech where the tools have gotten good, finally. Aging biology is a valid discipline. It’s go time. Everything’s aligned.”

- Joe Betts-LaCroix, CEO, Retro Biosciences (source)

• Pioneering Biotech Companies in Aging: The biotech industry is seeing a notable rise in companies focusing on aging. Key players like Altos Labs and Calico Life Sciences are at the forefront, specifically targeting cellular reprogramming. Altos Labs, backed by high-profile investors including Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner, recently secured a US$3 billion funding round in January 2022, marking it as one of the most substantially funded biotech startups to date.

• Expanding Investment in Longevity Biotech: Longevity biotech boasts 170 startups and $13B in funding but is garnering more and more interest.

As we embark on 2024, it’s becoming increasingly evident that the surge in interest around longevity and preventative health is far more than just a passing phase. By 2050 ¼ of the world’s population will be 65 yo+ : our nations are just only starting to experience the first waves and impacts of the 'Silver Tsunami’. This demographic change will not only invade the health of our nations but command the entire overhaul of our healthcare systems, and shift public policies & consumer health towards preventative health in Western World.

This reckoning is happening now.

In summary, 2024 marks just the beginning of preventative, personalized care taking over healthcare, signaling the potential birth of one of the largest industries of our time.

PS: You made it! Thank you for going through this (lengthy) content, and for your support. I’m working on new projects in the fields of preventative medicine and longevity. If you’re interested in collaborating, please reach out! maud dot pasturaud at gmail dot com.