Steve, the Founder of GenAI Works and AI4Diversity, is an AI expert, tech evangelist, and global keynote speaker. David Sinclair, a tenured professor at Harvard Medical School, has shared a paper on a new AI-designed drug for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, showcasing the incredible advances in AI drug discovery. The drug, INS018_055, is in Phase II clinical trials. Insilico Medicine, the company behind the drug, has trained its AI algorithms to find targets and design drugs that work at the intersection of aging and disease. This lead drug is intended to provide evidence that this approach to drug discovery works.
Aging and disease are interconnected, with various biological processes associated with both, such as extracellular matrix stiffness, genomic damage, cellular senescence, and inflammation. The number of people over 60 is growing rapidly, with chronic diseases being the leading cause of death and disability in older individuals. AI can process complex data and locate new biological targets, making it an ideal tool to unravel the mysteries of aging and disease. Entrepreneur Peter H. Diamandis calls for a focus on healthspan and technological advancements to drive meaningful change, emphasizing the importance of using AI to combat aging and disease.
Diamandis has launched the XPrize Healthspan competition with a prize of $101 million, aiming to fund the development of a therapeutic that can restore muscle, cognition, and immune function by 10-20 years in individuals aged 65-80. This competition is supported by major donors such as the Hevolution Foundation and Lululemon founder Chip Wilson. The XPrize Healthspan organizers will hold their first Team Summit at the Aging Research and Drug Discovery conference in August at the University of Copenhagen, with plans to select and fund up to 40 teams to fight aging by 2025. The competition seeks to revolutionize the treatment of aging by targeting biological aging rather than disease.
Diamandis, known for his audacious ideas and initiatives, sees the XPrize Healthspan competition as an opportunity to push the boundaries of what is known in aging research and develop revolutionary treatments. The competition aims to find a treatment that is more advanced than current options and ultimately make it accessible to everyone. As part of the XPrize Healthspan competition, teams will receive grants to develop therapeutics targeting biological aging, with the goal of improving healthspan and addressing the challenges associated with aging and disease. The competition seeks to accelerate advancements in the field of aging research and promote the development of innovative treatments to combat age-related illnesses.
