• by Les Luchter , Staff Writer, March 2, 2023

Last week, Forbes reported on -- gasp -- the formation of a rare bipartisan committee in the very, very polarized U.S. House of Representatives. The cause uniting Democrats and Republicans is thousands of years old: the desire to live longer.

But now, as opposed to, say, Ponce de Leon’s futile search for the fabled Fountain of Youth, the drive to increase longevity is rooted in science. This was made clear by the House Committee’s very name: the Congressional Caucus for Longevity Science.

Earlier last month, California’s Yuvan Research reported the case of Sima, the world’s oldest living lab rat. She’s now 47 months old -- the equivalent of 126 years old for a human -- the result of being treated with a patent-pending process that’s said to recreate the circulatory environment of a young mammal.

Later in the month, Elysium Health, which sells at-home biological age tests, announced the launch of an Aging Research Center, which will debut with a study called “Translational Initiative to Map Epigenetics in Aging”.

What are epigenetics?

“Cellular aging may be driven by changes to the ‘epigenome,’ the machinery that helps read the DNA code,” says Tally Health, which launched a D2C subscription longevity service last week. 

Tally Health’s co-founder Dr. David Sinclair recently published results of 13 years of research “showing that epigenetic changes can be safely reversed in mice to improve the function of tissues.”

For $128 a month, Tally subscribers get quarterly at-home biological age testing, a daily supplement called Vitality, and other perks like personalized lifestyle recommendations. The tests can also be bought individually for $229.

Pharma & Health Insider interviewed Tally Health’s chief executive officer Melanie Goldey, formerly of TMRW Life Sciences, Refinery29, and Everyday Health.

Pharma & Health Insider: We understand that Tally Health already has a waiting list of 270,000 people. How is that possible, since the service has only just launched?

Melanie Goldey: Our co-founder and scientific advisor Dr. David Sinclair has amassed an incredible, engaged fan base through his decades of work in academia [including Harvard Medical School], as well as his bestselling book [“Lifespan: Why We Age -- and Why We Don’t Have To”] and top-ranked podcast, “Lifespan.” We launched our waitlist last year and many of the individuals who signed up are followers and fans of David and/or people who are interested in longevity and aging.

Pharma & Health Insider: And what’s happening with those 270,000 people at this point?

Goldey: Over 8,000 of the waitlist members participated in the Tally Health beta program last year, which was the foundational study that helped us develop our second-generation biological age test, aging clock, and personalized recommendation engine. The waitlist of 270,000+ people were given first notice of the tests being available at launch. Many of them immediately purchased memberships to be some of the first to receive their TallyAge. 

[TallyAge, the company’s trademarked name for biological age, is determined through its at-home cheek swab test. Tally Health then uses “a proprietary biological aging clock and a next-generation DNA analysis procedure to analyze genetic modifications that change throughout aging and reflect lifestyle habits.”]

Pharma & Health Insider: What can you tell us about your target audience?

Goldey: While we feel that Tally Health’s program will resonate with many different groups (everyone ages!), we have three primary demographic groups:

-- Biohackers, those who are deeply interested in using technology to optimize their overall health and longevity through testing and interventions

-- Women, whose bodies go through so many different changes and are interested in learning about how their body is aging at various life stages

-- Millennials + Gen Z-ers, especially those who are aligned with using technology and data to track their current habits, like fitness trackers, to further optimize their health

Pharma & Health Insider: Beyond the 270,000 people on the waitlist, what are your marketing/promotional plans for Tally Health?

Goldey: We are excited to build our community organically through converting our original waitlist members, and also to tap into promotional channels like social media, communities focused on longevity, and key opinion leader marketing campaigns.

Pharma & Health Insider: What’s your competition?

Goldey: While there are other companies who provide biological age tests, we believe that we have the most affordable, convenient, and accurate second-generation biological aging test on the market currently.

Pharma & Health Insider: How big a market is this? 

Goldey: The global longevity economy is projected to reach $27 trillion in 2026, with the AgeTech segment alone reaching $2.7 trillion by 2025 (Source: Longevity Technology).

Pharma & Health Insider:Have you teamed up with existing companies for the at-home test and/or supplement?

Goldey: Our at-home diagnostic test and Vitality supplement formulation were both developed in-house. We use qualified partners to manufacture the components and packaging.