Billionaires invest billions in an attempt to stop aging
Billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, and Peter Thiel are investing billions of dollars in biotechnology companies trying to rejuvenate cells in the body. A first human trial at Life Biosciences showed improved vision in two out of three glaucoma patients after an experimental treatment. Researchers are advancing to a higher dose.
Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, Peter Thiel, and other billionaires are pouring vast sums into biotechnology companies that aim to return aging cells to a younger state. A first human trial by Life Biosciences of Boston, co-founded by aging researcher David Sinclair of Harvard, showed preliminary results: three glaucoma patients received an intraocular injection of an experimental treatment called ER-100, which activates three proteins linked to cell rejuvenation. In two of them, an improvement in light sensitivity was measured in at least 28% of the tested areas in the visual field after eight weeks. The safety committee recommended moving to a threefold higher dose. However, the study is small and very preliminary, there is no control group, and visual field tests vary from test to test. Meanwhile, other companies such as Altos Labs (backed by Bezos, with investment commitments of about $3 billion), New Limit (valued at $3.1 billion), and Retro Biosciences (backed by Altman) are developing similar treatments. The main challenge is safety: overly strong activation of reprogramming mechanisms could encourage tumors.