INSIGHTS
February 3, 2025

Buying time

There's growing fascination with (and funding for) longevity innovation—a field intended to increase lifespan and healthspan by preventing the onset of age-related conditions. Retro Biosciences, a startup leveraging OpenAI technology to develop longevity therapies, announced it’s raising $1B “to extend the human lifespan by a decade.” Hone Health, a direct-to-consumer telehealth player focused on hormone optimization, secured $33M in Series A funding to expand into longevity care. Meanwhile, longevity’s “sister” focus area preventative health saw Neko Health, a full-body scan startup, secure a whopping $260M in Series B funding. At the same time, virtual weight loss platform Noom brought AI body scan features onto its mobile app—building off of existing tailwinds in weight loss and food as medicine.

From waiting lists to high price tags, the emerging product market for longevity raises critical questions about accessibility—and exactly who benefits from breakthroughs. High-cost, direct-to-consumer models could widen health disparities instead of closing healthspan-lifespan gaps. And it goes without saying that aging care innovation is still very much needed to address the immediate needs and care accessibility challenges of an aging population. All in all, healthcare innovators are making it clear that aging is no longer a passive process or inevitability—it’s an industry.

Headlines

What Trump’s Busy First Week Means For Healthcare
From revoked executive orders and new ones written, to canceled committees and frozen funds Fierce Healthcare

RFK Jr. Key Confirmation Vote Hangs In The Balance
Of topics discussed at hearing, from Medicaid to abortion, vaccines sparked the most contention AP News

US FDA Identifies Cybersecurity Risks In Certain Patient Monitors
Unauthorized individuals could potentially access and manipulate device readings remotely Reuters

DeepSeek’s New AI Model Sparks Shock, Awe, And Questions
New open-source LLM could power some healthcare AI use cases at a fraction of the cost Wired

Hims & Hers To Advertise Weight-Loss Shots At The Super Bowl
Some find the ad downplays the risks of compounded drugs The Wall Street Journal

Quartet Health Acquired By Neuroflow Following Divestiture of Telehealth Assets
In a reverse tapestry of sorts, Quartet Health sells pieces of itself Behavioral Health Business

Regular Flossing Linked To Better Health, Reduced Stroke, AFib Risk
New research supports the connection between oral and cardiovascular health Healthline

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