Longevity Bottlenecks

Abstract

AbstractThe longevity field has received an influx of capital and talent over the past 5 years, but it is unclear where directing these resources would result in the biggest positive impact. We aimed to establish a systematic, rigorous and unbiased way to identify the areas where increased investment would accelerate progress across the whole longevity field the most. To do so, we surveyed ∼400 participants across various sectors of longevity, asking them to 1) identify the major bottlenecks they are experiencing, 2) list their most needed solution, and 3) rate the potential efficacy and barriers to development of various aging intervention strategies. We built a classification system of Bottlenecks and Solutions based on grouping related answers and found the most frequently listed bottlenecks to be 1) lack of validated aging biomarkers; 2) an overall lack of funding; and 3) lack of good models for aging studies. Surprisingly, the most wanted solution was greater availability of large public datasets. Indeed, a common theme across all answers was the need for a new data-centric structure of scientific research, where large datasets are routinely gathered and made available, access walls are removed, protocols are standardized, negative and unpublished data are shared, and AI systems are released on the data for automated discovery. Finally, a lack of regulatory clarity was listed as the biggest barrier to development across all interventions, whereas cellular reprogramming, organ replacement, and genetic medicine (gene therapies and gene editing) were perceived as the intervention strategies with the highest potential for increasing healthy lifespan. We provide these data as a resource for funding agencies, philanthropists, entrepreneurs and newcomers to the field as a means to identify high impact areas to fund and work on.Key takeaways395 Participants were surveyed for their biggest bottlenecks and most needed solutionsTop Bottlenecks: lack of Validated Biomarkers; Overall lack of Funding and Slow & Expensive Models.Top proposed Solutions: more Public Datasets; improved Regulatory Path; and Overall More Funding.Bottlenecks and Solutions vary substantially across industry areas.Rapamycin and calorie restriction are perceived as the most efficacious interventions in the near term.Somatic reprogramming, organ replacement, and genetic medicine are perceived as the most efficacious interventions in the long term (25 years).Sirtuin and NAD targeting therapies are seen as the least efficacious interventions in all time-frames.Across all interventions, Regulatory Issues are perceived as the most severely inhibiting factor in the development of the intervention.