With an estimated net worth of approximately $400 million, tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson has access to the best healthcare in the world. But blood exchange with his 17-year-old son and 70-year-old father and undergoing daily body scans by a team of 30 doctors isn’t quite enough for the 46-year-old centimillionaire who wants to be 18 Again.
Now the Plan The founder travels to the remote Caribbean island of Roatán to be injected with a genetically enhanced drug that has not been approved by the FDA and which at least one scientist believes will “kill someone.”
At $25,000 apiece, the gene therapy works by turbocharging the body’s production of follistatin – a protein that helps manage the production of other proteins and hormones – to reduce inflammation, increase muscle mass and improve density bone. It is, according to Minicircle Inc, the small American startup behind the therapy, one of humanity’s best hopes for “extreme longevity”.
The company chose not to bill Johnson for the follistatin treatment, but apparently their treatment is a good deal.
“Most gene therapies cost more than $1 million apiece,” said Walter Patterson, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Minicircle. Bloomberg. “This therapy is designed so that anyone in the world can have access to it.”
Minicircle has not yet released clinical trial data for its follistatin treatment, which is the first in a series of products Minicircle plans to roll out. That’s why scientists are issuing stark warnings about the dangers of unregulated gene therapy trials.
“These have no evidence that they work, make no sense from a scientific perspective, and will likely kill someone by causing cancer or liver failure,” wrote Christin Glorioso, a physician and neuroscientist, about follistatin and other unregulated gene therapies over its longevity and health newsletter.
Former FDA official helped Johnson assess risks
For Minicircle, the benefit of getting the endorsement of a longevity influencer like Johnson is clear. “He’s by far the most high-profile person to ever come here,” said Mac Davis, co-founder of Minicircle. Bloomberg. “Bryan is giving us something that’s worth more than we would charge him.”
But why would Johnson forgo FDA approvals to become a human guinea pig for the startup? Of course, saving money is not a factor.
In fact, the youth-seeking executive and his chief physician, Oliver Zolman, had already compiled a list of around 20 radical treatments believed to have longevity benefits – and follistatin was one of them.
Their risk-benefit analysis included having their own team of scientists and a former FDA official asking questions of the Minicircle team. Clearly, the responses were good enough for Johnson to try the treatment, and he received his first dose on September 10, according to his doctor. Instagram.
“I am now a genetically enhanced human,” Johnson exclaimed, while emphasizing the benefits of the treatment in mice.
“The Follistatin gene therapy ranks 7th among lifespan studies, extending the lifespan of mice by 30%,” he added.
Indeed, animal studies have shown that mice injected with follistatin improvement of age-related muscle loss and bone density. However, the benefits of follistatin have not yet been studied in healthy human participants.
For its medical trial, Minicircle selected 44 people aged 23 to 89 who will be injected with the same dose of follistatin, then followed for three months. According to Minicircle, which has not yet released data from the trial, participants managed to shave about 11 years off their genetic age.
Johnson, on the other hand, has been open about the success – or failure – of various parts of his project. $2 million per year plan have been. Since launching Blueprint in 2021, with the aim of monitoring and reversing one’s biological age, he has published his progress on the company website for everyone to follow.
Since becoming “genetically enhanced,” he has reported a 160% increase in follistatin levels in his body, according to Bloomberg. But he has yet to set any new personal bests while training – with the except to finally be able to tear off his shirt just 14 days after treatment.
