What I'm reading: "Inside the Secretive Life-Extension Clinic"

"Regulators need to stand aside"

Author

Longevity Hound
June 28, 2023

BioViva CEO Liz Parrish, who says regulators need to stand aside and let those who are willing try anti-aging treatments

What I’m Reading: An article in Wired that looks at at entrepreneur Liz Parrish and her company BioViva, which promises breakthrough longevity treatments today. Among the highlights from the article:

  • Parrish herself got the BioViva gene therapy for telomerase, which she says has reversed her biological age by 25 years

  • BioViva now offers three gene therapies to patients: one for cognitive decline (klotho), a second for muscle loss (follistatin), and a third for aging (telomerase)

  • BioViva’s treatments are not authorized in the U.S., so the company partners with a network of clinics in Mexico and Colombia.

Experts in the field, such as Charles Brenner who I profiled recently, doubt BioViva's treatments work. The company says that neither safety nor efficacy are guaranteed. The price is — $75k per treatment.

Haven't we seen this before? The article makes Parrish sound a bit like Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of biotech company Theranos, who is now going to jail for fraud. But popular articles always need a slant.

What's the reality? Is there something to BioViva, or is it a complete scam? If you want to start trying to figure it out for yourself, the Wired article is worth a read.