In this episode of Translating Aging, host Chris Patil speaks with Dr. Andrew Brack, Program Manager at the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The discussion centers around the new ARPA-H initiative called Prosper, which stands for Proactive Solutions for Prolonging Resilience. This initiative aims to develop therapies that extend health span and prevent the onset of age-related diseases. Dr. Brack, a former professor at UCSF and co-founder of a biotech startup, brings a deep background in aging research and regenerative medicine. The conversation covers Prosper’s mission, its alignment with ARPA-H’s broader goals, and how it seeks to build the necessary infrastructure for longevity-focused therapeutics.
Key Takeaways
- Introduction to Prosper: Prosper is an ARPA-H program aimed at extending health span by preventing functional decline due to aging. It seeks to create the foundational data and infrastructure needed for longevity-focused biotech. The program is designed to fill a major gap in the healthcare system by providing a clear path for interventions that focus on preserving function and resilience before age-related diseases take hold.
- Dr. Andrew Brack’s Background: Dr. Brack has an extensive history in aging research, with work at Stanford, Harvard, and UCSF. His expertise in muscle biology, computational approaches, and biotech startups informs his approach to Prosper. His unique combination of hands-on experimental science and cutting-edge computational methods allows him to see aging research from multiple angles, making him an ideal leader for this initiative.
- ARPA-H’s Role: ARPA-H, modeled after DARPA, focuses on transformative healthcare breakthroughs. Prosper is one of its key programs aimed at preventive medicine. The agency provides a unique structure that enables ambitious projects to move forward rapidly by bypassing some of the bureaucratic obstacles that often slow down traditional research initiatives.
- Bridging the Health Span Gap: The U.S. faces a significant disparity between lifespan and health span. Over 80% of adults over 65 have chronic conditions, leading to high medical costs and reduced quality of life. By prioritizing interventions that maintain health rather than treat disease after it occurs, Prosper aims to shift the focus of medical science toward prevention.
- Building the Train Tracks: Prosper’s main objective is to create the data, infrastructure, and regulatory pathway necessary for longevity biotech companies to develop and commercialize therapies. Without these foundational elements, progress in the field has been slow. Prosper intends to clear the path for companies and researchers to make aging-targeted therapies a reality.
- Defining and Measuring Health Span: Prosper aims to develop surrogate biomarkers to track functional decline and test interventions more efficiently. This effort will involve large-scale data collection, AI-powered analysis, and real-world validation studies that examine how different interventions affect health outcomes over time.
- First and Second Generation Therapeutics: The program will first test FDA-approved drugs for longevity effects before developing new therapeutics specifically designed to extend health span. This two-pronged approach allows for quicker near-term benefits while also investing in long-term breakthroughs.
- Innovative Clinical Trial Design: By leveraging home-based data collection and digital health tools, Prosper seeks to shorten clinical trial durations from decades to a few years. This method improves accessibility and ensures more comprehensive data collection while reducing costs and participant burden.
- Economic and Policy Implications: Extending health span by just one year for 10% of the aging population could save the U.S. $29 billion annually and add $80 billion to GDP. The economic impact of improving public health through aging interventions is one of the strongest arguments for investing in this space.
- Call for Collaborators: ARPA-H is actively seeking industry and academic partners to contribute to Prosper’s mission and participate in upcoming funding opportunities. This is an open call for the best minds in biotech, medicine, and computational sciences to work together in shaping the future of aging research.
Key Points
Understanding the Role of ARPA-H
ARPA-H, established in 2022 with a $1.3 billion budget, was designed to drive transformative healthcare breakthroughs. It operates under the Department of Health and Human Services and follows a lean, flexible structure similar to DARPA. Prosper aligns with ARPA-H’s mission by focusing on preventative health solutions rather than disease treatment. Its goal is to increase health span and prevent age-related functional decline.
The Genesis of Prosper
Prosper was conceived to address a major gap in the longevity biotech sector: the lack of foundational data and regulatory pathways for therapies targeting aging itself. Unlike traditional biotech initiatives that focus on specific age-related diseases, Prosper aims to create the “train tracks” necessary for an entire industry to thrive.
Addressing the Health Span Crisis
Modern medicine has significantly extended human lifespan, but quality of life in later years has not kept pace. Over 80% of seniors suffer from chronic conditions, and nearly 30% are considered pre-frail. Prosper’s primary mission is to close this gap by providing tools and therapies that maintain function and resilience as people age.
Developing Surrogate Biomarkers
Aging research has struggled with the lack of clear biomarkers to track health span interventions. Prosper aims to establish surrogate biomarkers that can serve as early indicators of age-related decline. These biomarkers will be validated through multiple approaches, including analyzing existing longitudinal health data and tracking changes through lifestyle and pharmaceutical interventions.
First and Second Generation Therapeutics
Prosper will begin by repurposing existing FDA-approved drugs to determine their potential impact on health span. This approach minimizes risk and accelerates the path to real-world application. The second phase will involve developing novel therapeutics specifically designed to enhance resilience and delay aging-related decline.
Innovative Clinical Trials and Home-Based Data Collection
Traditional clinical trials for aging interventions can take decades. Prosper aims to shorten this timeline by leveraging home-based data collection, digital health monitoring, and AI-driven analytics. By measuring functional health markers in real-world settings, Prosper will create a more practical and scalable framework for evaluating longevity therapies.
Economic and Policy Considerations
The economic burden of aging-related diseases is immense. Studies suggest that even modest improvements in health span could lead to billions in annual savings for Medicare and Social Security. Prosper’s approach aligns with national healthcare priorities, making a strong case for continued investment in aging research.
Conclusion
Prosper represents a groundbreaking initiative that could redefine how we approach aging and health span extension. By creating the necessary infrastructure, developing key biomarkers, and testing both repurposed and novel therapeutics, Prosper aims to catalyze a new era of longevity-focused medicine. This shift has the potential to dramatically alter the way healthcare systems operate by emphasizing disease prevention and health preservation rather than reactive treatment.
Beyond the immediate impact of its research efforts, Prosper also serves as a call to action for policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders to rethink aging-related healthcare. The economic and societal benefits of extending health span are vast, and with the right collaborations, this initiative has the potential to bring lasting change to healthcare. By aligning the interests of science, industry, and public policy, Prosper could set the stage for a healthier, longer-lived global population.