World-renowned scientists converge in Cascais to discuss how to slow the ageing process
By Natasha Donn
27th April 2023
Longevity Med Summit attracts investors with €10 billion “available to apply”
It is billed as “the world’s largest event in the area” – and the area is not referring to coastal Cascais. It means the area of ‘longevity medicine, which involves biotechnology, artificial intelligence and a whole lot more in-between.
According to Lusa, more than 1,000 world-renowned scientists and investors with €10 billion available to apply in longevity medicine will be converging on Cascais between May 4-5 in the first edition of Longevity Med Summit.
Organised by Brazilian Jorge Lima, the choice of Portugal to host the event – with the organisation having already established a partnership until 2025 with the Municipality of Cascais (Lisbon district) – is justified with “the reality and ecosystem” of the country, which “is growing a lot in this area of longevity”.
“There is a lot of interest from international investors in this area in Portugal”, he told Lusa, as the country “has good companies in the area of cutting-edge biotechnology, which have already been operating for a good few years, especially in the Centre and North”, and “there is a whole ecosystem that is supported by institutes, universities and accelerators”.
“In other words, there is already a natural ecosystem, which has a very strong look in the area of longevity”.
At a global level, Lima highlights the strong evolution of this market that, “in the last two years, has directly received more than $5,200 million (about €4,691 million) in direct investments in small and medium-sized companies and, above all, in new ‘startups’ that have emerged in the last five years”, and that “will continue to grow exponentially until 2030”.
“Today there are not only investment funds, but also large companies and laboratories that are highly focused on the development of this market and have every interest in investing.
“By 2020, this market already pointed figures in the order of $44,000 million (€39,698 million) worldwide and will continue to grow. We are projecting market growth in the order of $43,000 million dollars (€38,796 million) by 2030,” he specified.
When talking about the “longevity market”, Lima explained, “we are talking about therapies in the field of genetics or immunotherapy, as well as the development of new drugs and therapies, for example, to reduce free radicals and other cells directly linked to ageing”.
In addition to allowing the debate around the science of ageing, regenerative and longevity therapies, with the aim of improving health and well-being, the Longevity Med Summit 2023 proposes to “reveal the main challenges that limit the development of these therapies” and also offer participants new business opportunities, networking with potential investors, conferences, innovation pitches and mentoring activities.
“The Longevity Med Summit encompasses a diversity of sectors and areas of activity ranging from health, nutrition, pharmacology, artificial intelligence, longevity medicine, digitalization to sectors such as economy, public policies, tourism or education,” highlights the organization.
“The executives and managers of these investment funds will be here, and will come to Portugal to seek not only new opportunities, but also to deal directly with the scientists themselves regarding opportunities in new trends and new markets to contribute to their investments in these areas”, added Jorge Lima.
According to him, these are “highly specialized investors with knowledge of the market”, although “most of them do not know the Portuguese ecosystem yet”: “This will be the first time they come to Portugal directly to invest. They will take the opportunity to get to know local companies that will be present and participate in the pitches that will be made by these small companies – many of which are startups – to learn about their business model.
“If investors perceive that there is some technology that is innovative, that has a well-developed solution and that it is an opportunity, they will undoubtedly invest in those companies.”
According to the organisation, among speakers at the Longevity Med Summit will be doctors, scientists and researchers such as Shai Efrati, from the Sagol School of Neuroscience at Tel Aviv University, in Israel, described as “one of the world’s leading research scientists in hyperbaric medicine”, Charles Brenner, president of the Alfred E Mann Family Foundation (Department of Diabetes and Cancer Metabolism) at the City of Hope National Medical Center, in the US, and “responsible for several researches on the correlation of metabolism, diabetes and the appearance of cancerous diseases”; Andrea B. Maier, Professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore, researcher in gerontology and prevention of age-related diseases and responsible for several researches in the field of ageing health and dementia; Gordan Lauc, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Zagreb, Croatia, and director of the National Centre of Scientific Excellence in Personalized Health; and Aubrey de Grey, English scientist and biomedical gerontologist, director of the SENS foundation and author of the theory of ageing caused by mitochondrial free radicals and the book “Ending Ageing“.
Source material: LUSA
