Petr Šrámek on the evolution of longevity clinics, the challenges faced in the industry and the need for a prevention-focused approach.
The countdown to the Founders Longevity Forum Singapore has begun! Set to gather top minds from the worlds of science, healthcare and investment, this two-day event next month will delve into groundbreaking research and practical solutions for healthy aging. As interest in longevity accelerates worldwide, the forum aims to drive meaningful discussions, foster partnerships and showcase cutting-edge advancements in healthspan and vitality. With a strong focus on the Asia-Pacific region, it will also focus on Singapore’s emergence as a leading hub for innovation in addressing the challenges of aging.
Petr Šrámek, Cofounder, Chairman and Managing/General Partner at LongevityTech.Fund, will be a prominent attendee at the event. Renowned for his expertise in longevity-focused investments, Šrámek has played a pivotal role in identifying and funding innovative pre-clinical therapies with the potential to transform aging science. His leadership at LongevityTech.Fund has fostered groundbreaking advancements in the field, making him a prominent voice in longevity investment strategies.
Longevity.Technology: Šrámek’s presentation on Investing in Pre-clinical Longevity Therapies will shed light on the financial and strategic considerations involved in accelerating early-stage therapies. This session promises to offer valuable insights into bridging the gap between cutting-edge research and real-world applications. Ahead of February’s Forum, we spoke with Šrámek to explore his vision for longevity investments, the role of venture capital in this field, and his thoughts on the future of pre-clinical therapies.
Petr Šrámek on…
Exciting times
I’m particularly excited to coming back to Singapore after maybe two years. What I see everywhere is really this improving traction in longevity and the general awareness is really flourishing. So I’m really looking forward to it. From our perspective, there is a very interesting progress in what we call advanced approaches or advanced therapies. There is a lot of stuff happening in more traditional spaces which may relate to like back to wellness or longevity wellness lifestyle and it’s pretty well covered. But what we need right now is to focus on more progressive ways how to slow down aging or reverse or aging. And what I’m referring to are things like XPRIZE, XPRIZE HealthSpan. That’s about a rejuvenation goal of 20 years, so this is maybe the most important target right now.
The investment landscape
General interest in terms of what actually is possible and would make sense is definitely still growing. I’m seeing new people coming into the field, new investors and new groups interested to learn about the longevity and possibilities here. However, the past two years were complicated in terms of actually deploying money, but now it seems to be changing. There is a huge gap of understanding what’s actually a good opportunity and what is not, especially in terms of traditional biotech and biological approaches, which can be really complicated. There are just a few investors on the market who actually can connect with longevity, biology and biotech – traditional biotech investors are not really ready to look at this longevity angle yet.
What I hear is that even the big pharma is definitely paying attention. There are initiatives like building entire new departments for longevity assets acquisitions within Big Pharma. Obviously, general investment or financial cycle seems to be favorable for new IPOs during the next two, three years – that’s another way for exits. And biotech companies’ current exits are really more based on traditional Big Pharma – acquiring some therapeutics for specific disease or category disease. But I hope that it will change. There is a new wind coming from the expected US administration, which is seems to be much better understand the longevity potential requirements.
The outlook for longevity clinics
Modern longevity clinics have a focus that is much earlier than traditional healthcare – to prevent in terms of real prevention, not just early diagnostics, that’s probably the major differentiator. So, the personal longevity clinics should take a medical look at individuals at their level of health and try to improve these biomarkers and health parameters. But from the perspective of our clinic, we try to play a more active role in this industry, building a clinic to solve the question of how far we can translate some longevity therapeutics to the market.
I would expect that typically there will be lot of offshore solutions before some therapies can be widely available, like regular treatments in the US or Europe or Asian countries. But it will not be massive. Most people will not go offshore for treatment, so our target is definitely to make it available onshore, first using clinical trials framework and then as soon as possible get some form of approval and make it available as soon as possible because we are all losing time. Time is ticking and we need to do more than just lifestyle changes.