
In the meantime, Sinclair is confident Life Biosciences will produce tangible results to convince more people, especially regulators, that drugs for aging are feasible—and that his company will discover them. “I can’t speak on behalf of everybody, but my hope is that within our lifetimes, we will see that doctors are able to prescribe medicines as a preventive measure against the diseases of aging,” he says.
But consumers may not easily understand that distinction. There are pills sold online today that claim to interfere with the aging process. And even though aging researchers—including Sinclair—may try them, support them, or sit on supplement companies’ advisory boards, supplements do not need to prove the same effectiveness that drugs do. A drug that targets aging pathways in the body and is approved by the federal government would signal the first real treatment for extending lifespan, but any such drug is likely many years away.
…longevity research and there are anti-aging supplements and “there’s a huge chasm between the two.” While longevity scientists may themselves be interested in living past 100, the distinction is really about living healthier for longer and not just reaching the centenarian milestone. “Maybe maximum lifespan will be 125, [or] maybe it will be 110, but I am honestly not interested in…