Alex Colville: Longevity Attracted Mainstream Interest Before Human Therapies Were Ready

Alex Colville: Longevity Attracted Mainstream Interest Before Human Therapies Were Ready

On August 26, Ashley Vance spoke with Alex Colville, cofounder of the age1 venture fund, in a new episode of the Core Memory podcast. Colville believes that the cost and duration of clinical trials will determine how many interventions can be tested in humans.

In 2014, Colville expected events to unfold in a different order. He thought technological advances would reach people first, and the subject would then attract mainstream interest. In his view, bloggers and podcasts brought public attention to aging and longevity sooner.

Studies in animals and cells can show whether an idea has potential, but only human trials can establish whether it works in people. For Colville, this step connects a biological hypothesis to an intervention that people may eventually be able to use.

“To develop more interventions that work, we need to test more interventions. That requires cheaper trials and faster development cycles,” Colville says.

As a near-term example, he points to the possible FDA approval of a Loyal drug for older dogs. He predicts that, if the drug is approved, owners will see an attempt to alter age-related decline in animals that share their lives. That experience could change how people view the idea of intervening in aging itself.