Global Life Science Market Analyst Anastasia Bystritskaya on why healthspan data will define the next wave of longevity investment.
Longevity has long been measured by one number: lifespan. Life expectancy has increased steadily, but healthy life expectancy has not kept pace. The World Health Organization estimates much of the final decade of life is now spent in poor health. In the United States, studies suggest more than twelve years on average are lived in poor health before death. This is not only a healthcare challenge but a distortion in how we allocate resources, with profound implications for investors, regulators, and policymakers.
The economics are clear. Research from the McKinsey Health Institute shows that every $1 invested in healthy aging in the United States can return about $3 in economic and healthcare benefits. Interventions such as fall prevention, social connectivity, and digital literacy all generated positive returns, with some areas showing up to nine times ROI. Improving resilience is not just socially desirable – it is financially sound.
Why investors should care
Survival endpoints will always matter. They are the foundation of modern medicine, but if investment, regulation, and reimbursement only reward added months of life without accounting for mobility, cognition, or independence, we risk prolonging decline rather than enabling participation. Healthspan data makes it possible to measure and price the outcomes that people, employers, and payers truly feel: years lived well.
What has changed
Measurement. Biomarkers of aging are moving from theory to translational use. Epigenetic clocks can predict functional decline more accurately than chronological age. Proteomic signatures from the UK Biobank show strong predictive power for morbidity and mortality risk. Digital phenotyping through wearables and behavioral data is beginning to provide scalable, real-time measures of resilience.
Evidence. Interventions are proving that healthspan can move on timelines relevant to capital. The European DO-HEALTH trial showed that vitamin D, omega 3, and exercise reduced frailty and infections while slowing biological aging. The ongoing TAME trial with metformin is testing whether one drug can delay multiple age-related conditions simultaneously. These examples demonstrate that healthspan can be influenced and measured in ways that regulators and investors can value.
Policy momentum. Countries are embedding healthspan into national strategies. Japan has tied healthy life expectancy to economic sustainability. Singapore has launched Healthy Longevity Clinics that integrate biomarker data into preventive care. Europe’s Healthier Together initiative targets non communicable disease prevention as the foundation for healthier aging. The UAE’s Emirati Genome Program is building infrastructure for personalized medicine designed to extend both lifespan and vitality.
What needs to change
- Regulators should elevate healthspan endpoints alongside survival. The goal is not to replace life saving endpoints but to balance them. For conditions where functional and cognitive resilience matter most, regulators could pilot co-primary or key secondary endpoints. Clear guidance would reduce trial risk and encourage innovation without compromising safety.
- Payers should test reimbursement models that reward healthy years added. Contracts tied to validated outcomes such as reduced fall related admissions, preserved daily living activities, or improved activity and sleep patterns would align incentives with societal value. If McKinsey’s median ROI of three times holds true, there is economic room to fund what works.
- AI can accelerate geroscience with guardrails. Artificial intelligence can model interventions across aging pathways, potentially shortening R&D cycles and focusing trials on outcomes patients feel. But aging clocks remain heterogeneous. For now, digital and molecular measures should support composite endpoints, not replace clinically interpretable ones.
Mind the global gap
High income nations like Japan, Singapore, and the UAE can build advanced healthspan infrastructure. In Africa and South Asia, the challenges are more basic: safe housing, transportation to appointments, and access to green space. Yet these interventions often generate the highest ROI by preventing costly hospitalizations and enabling participation. A credible global agenda must recognize that the United States is not Nigeria, but citizens in both deserve healthier years. The ecosystem matters: governments to set direction, companies to build scalable tools, payers to reward outcomes, and investors to scale what works.
Guardrails we must keep
Not all biomarkers are ready for prime time. Aging clocks can diverge across cohorts, and clinicians need interpretability. The most responsible near term path is to use composite outcomes that combine functional measures patients understand with molecular and digital signals. Equity is another imperative. If healthspan finance flows only to affluent early adopters, the very gap we aim to close will widen. Designing for access must be part of the model from the start.
The next five years
My forecast is simple: within five years, healthspan metrics will sit beside survival data in payer policies and investor models for leading longevity assets. Countries and systems that adopt healthspan linked procurement and reimbursement will attract innovation first because they shorten the feedback loop between measurable outcomes and capital returns. Investors who underwrite healthspan, not just lifespan, will price risk more accurately and earn stronger returns.
Healthspan is not a slogan. It is a data layer that can realign research, policy, and capital toward the outcomes that matter: vitality, independence, participation. The sooner we treat it as the real investment imperative, the faster longevity will mature from promise to performance.
About Anastasia Bystritskaya
Anastasia Bystritskaya is a Senior Global Life Science Market Analyst at Thermo Fisher Scientific. She specializes in market intelligence and foresight across biotech and diagnostics in emerging and complex markets, with a focus on MENA, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Her work explores how data, diagnostics, and innovation shape access and longevity worldwide.
