(Dublin, Ireland)–At the “Longevity Summit 2022: New Frontiers for Human Health Today,” Bernard Siegel, J.D. launched the new nonprofit organization, Healthspan Action Coalition (HAC), initiating a global societal movement supporting healthy aging. Building upon a foundation of trusted and matured connections and networks, the movement will be deployed across a wide spectrum of collaborative efforts promoting favorable policy and funding for scientific research, innovations and patient engagement.
According to Bernard Siegel, “This new initiative fills a glaring unmet need. We’ve come to believe that the field of biological aging is the new frontier, and patients are the key driving force to advancing an extension of the healthspan, the number of years we can live free of disease and disability. Biological aging research is not only for the elderly.”
Siegel continued, “The Coalition has recruited a leadership team of dedicated advocates who have an established track record of effectively advancing public support for fields of advanced therapies, regenerative cell therapies and enabling technologies. By communicating the importance of cutting-edge medicine to lawmakers, governments, media and the public, we have accelerated basic research and translational medicine, and moved the regulatory needle. This is not science fiction. Effective cures and treatments are in sight.”
The Coalition will unite all stakeholders who have an interest in lessening the burden of diseases and conditions that affect not only the aged, but all patients worldwide who experience an enormous range of health conditions, all of which impact the healthspan. Central to HAC’s formation is the recognition that virtually all diseases involve rapid premature aging, taking years off people’s lives, and the underlying cause of most widespread diseases is the aging process itself.
The Coalition’s priorities include:
- Increasing government funding for healthspan research, funding and filling clinical trials.
- Prioritizing an accelerated regulatory process for healthspan treatments and cures, enacting evidence-based regulations that keep pace with innovation.
- Advancing public and private sector payment policies supporting patient access to regenerative medicine and other advanced therapies aimed at extending the healthspan.
- Lessening preclinical animal testing and substituting, where possible, support for and deployment of advanced technologies, including precision medicine, organ-on-a-chip, AI, organoids and tissue-engineering.
- Addressing the progress, implications and global adoption of the World Health Organization ICD-11 codes declaring aging is a disease-related condition.
- Driving workforce development initiatives, including within technical schools and community colleges, to build capacity and develop a skilled workforce for this highly technical field.
- Distributive justice–delivering increased healthspan to all populations and communities by creating cross-sector collaborations and tools aimed at addressing disparities in the drivers of health, racism and bias, and structural flaws in the health system. All people have the fair and just right to achieve their full potential in every aspect of their health, longevity and well-being.
