Marketplace

The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) is a federally registered

non-profit medical society dedicated to the advancement of technology to detect,

prevent, and treat aging related disease and to promote research into methods to

retard and optimize the human aging process. A4M is also dedicated to educating

physicians, scientists, and members of the public on biomedical sciences,

breaking technologies, and anti-aging issues.

 

Established in 1991, the A4M represents 26,000+ physician & scientific members

from 120 countries:

The vast majority of anti-aging physicians are board certified in a primary medical

specialty that is recognized by the AMA establishment:

The Global Anti-Aging Marketplace:

•  Stood at ZERO dollars prior to 1991 (the year A4M was established)

•  Valued at $250 billion in 2012

•  Projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.7%

•  To top $345 billion in 2018

Marketplace

Multinational companies are pouring billions of dollars into anti-aging medical technologies. In particular, Silicon Valley has engaged significant resources:

Google backs privately held 23andMe, which offers a DNA test for consumers who can secure genetic reports and ancestry-related data.   In 2013 by Google’s CEO and co-founder, Larry Page - 40 years old at the time, founded Calico (California Life Company) with $1 billion in start-up funding.  Describing its goal as “focusing on the challenge of aging and associated diseases.”  Page has observed that: “With some longer term, moonshot thinking around healthcare and biotechnology, I believe we can improve millions of lives.”  Calico is headed by Art Levinson, former CEO of Genetech, a highly successful biotech company specializing in cancer therapies.
["Anti-ageing drugs may have been developed,” Independent,co.uk, 2 October 2014.]

In mid-2014, Calico forged a 10-year R&D collaboration deal with AbbVie Inc., a major US drugmaker (notably, Humira®, a rheumatoid arthritis biologic).  Each company is reported to invest an initial $250 million, with a possible additional $500 million in the future.  Using this funding, Calico will use its scientific expertise to establish a world-class research and development facility and AbbVie will use its commercial expertise to bring the new drugs discovered in this facility to market. 
[Google’s Calico, AbbVie forge deal against diseases of aging,” Reuters.com. 3 September 2014; Can Google’s Calico develop a cure for death?” Nanlyze.com, 4 September 2014.]

In early 2014, US scientist Craig Venter, who mapped the Human Genome a decade ago, founded Human Longevity, Inc.  With $70 million in its first round of private funding and prominent Asian real estate developers as key investors, the company aims to take a genome-based approach “to tackle the diseases associated with aging-related human biological decline.”
["Anti-ageing drugs may have been developed,” Independent,co.uk, 2 October 2014.]

In late 2014, the health technology and medical lab services company Theranos reached critical mass.  In 2003, Elizabeth Holmes, a then-19-year-old interested in microfluidics and nanotechnology dropped out of Stanford to start  the company, which successfully raised $45-million in venture capital. Announcing a partnership to provide point-of-care blood testing in Walgreen’s Pharmacy stores across the US, Theranos is reported to now be worth over $9 billion.  Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison is a Theranos board member.
[“Secretive lab test startup Theranos has everyone talking,” Medcitynews.com, 28 February 2014.]

In 2015, The Pharma division of Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Research & Development, announced its investment of billions of dollars towards 3 research projects to “prevent illnesses - particularly relating to aging and lifestyle.”
[“Johnson & Johnson projects aim to spot who’ll get a disease,” MedicalXpress.com, 12 Feb. 2015.]

Today, tech billionaries are seeking to cheat death:
•  Peter Thiel (Paypal, Facebook) is now age 47.  Thiel’s Breakout Labs “aims to support early-stage companies that push the boundaries of what’s possible”, as he considers “death [as] humanity’s greatest enemy."  Almost every major disease is linked to aging. At the end of the day, we need to do more.”  "A tiny fraction of a fraction of a fraction of NIH [National Institutes of Health] spending goes to genuine anti-aging research.”
[“Tech billionaires are trying to defeat death,” uk.BusinessInsider.com, 17 April 2015.  “A contrarian in Biotech,” MIT Technology Review, 16 March 2015. “Peter Thiel’s quest to find the key to eternal life,” Washington Post, 3 April  2015.]
•  Larry Ellison (Oracle) is investing $430 million because “death has never made any sense to me.”
•  Sergey Brin (Google) has committed $150 million to DNA data mining
[“Tech billionaires are trying to defeat death,” uk.BusinessInsider.com, 17 April 2015.]

Clearly, the notion that “aging is not inevitable” now resonates with entities that are poised to have a major, lasting, and beneficial impact in the field.  It is interesting, as well, to note that each of these megacorporations proudly equates themselves with “anti-aging.”  As such, the phrase “anti-aging” is now poised for transformation from a disparaged term to one of prestige and dominance.