The European country at the forefront of the immortality market
There appears to be more to a healthy diet and regular exercise when it comes to the secret to long life.
Thanks to technological advances there are more and more start-up companies, as well as private clinics, promising to extend people’s lives by almost 20 years.
This new longevity market is booming, particularly in Lausanne and German-speaking Switzerland.
Start-up Amazentis markets urolithin A, a molecule which comes from pomegranate and which was initially discovered by an EPFL research team.
Chris Rinsch, boss of Amazentis, told RTS: “For centuries, people have been talking about the anti-ageing effects of pomegranate.”
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The molecule is currently only available in the United States, but it is awaiting approval in Europe and Switzerland. This preventive treatment, which must be taken once a day, has a price: three francs per tablet (2.71 GBP).
Rinsch continued: “Mitochondria are the little batteries that provide energy in all our cells,” explains Chris Rinsch. As we age, the functioning of mitochondria decreases. And our molecule, urolithin A, improves the functioning of mitochondria.”
In clinical trials mice were found to live longer with this treatment. In humans, an increase in muscle tone, strength and endurance could be seen.
Today, former president of the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL), Patrick Aebischer is active within +ND Capital, a venture capital company founded in 2002 which invests in life sciences and data research.
He said: “We have doubled our life expectancy over four generations. Today, we can imagine continuing in this direction.
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“There is a desire to increase [our life expectancy], not so much in terms of duration but in terms of quality. Add quality to years, more than years to life.”
Since leaving the head of EPFL four years ago, Patrick Aebischer has identified and invested in start-ups. The convergence of digital tools and biotechnologies is constantly opening new doors.
He said: “Research is progressing and starting to tell us that ageing is a program. Can we intervene? Are there any targets? These are real molecules on which we can intervene to slow down ageing.”
Allied Market Research (AMR) values the longevity market at $25billion. And it’s expected to reach 44 billion in 2030 with annual growth of 6 percent.
Economic players meet in particular in Zug, an ideal place for emerging businesses, thanks to the light tax regime in force there.
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Start-up Avea Life markets, among other things, a collagen activator and antioxidants, but also a DNA and epigenetic test.
Tobias Reichmuth helped raise 2.5 million francs for Sophie Chabloz’s start-up. In recent years, Reichmuth made his fortune in cryptocurrencies, but his new hobby is the business of longevity.
The longevity business has not escaped the interest of other digital billionaires, such as Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Elon Musk (X and Tesla), and Peter Thiel (eBay).
In California, Aubrey de Gray is one of the gurus of transhumanism. The British scientist is the advisor of several Swiss companies. According to him, the human being who will reach a thousand years already lives among us.
The bio-gerontologist said: “With the technologies that are arriving we will succeed in placing ageing under total medical control in the next ten to fifteen years.
“Ageing is not an infection, it is just a side effect of life. It is not a question of treating it, but of containing it, so that the mechanisms do not deteriorate.”
Luxury clinics, too, have jumped on the trend, with treatments such as cryotherapy or hypoxia offered at the Chenot Palace in Weggis, in the canton of Lucerne.
George Gaitanos, the head of the establishment, said: “Our epigenetics laboratory allows us to observe the expression of certain genes linked to chronic inflammation, neurodegenerative damage or even hormones and antioxidants.
“Thanks to messenger RNA, we can measure in real time the instructions that DNA gives to the body. Thus, we have a complete vision of the state of the body and above all, we can anticipate what could happen years before the first symptoms.”
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