During the inaugural Dakshin Healthcare Summit, Prashanth Prakash provided insights into the burgeoning longevity sector in India.
Published Aug 07, 2024 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 07, 2024 | 8:00 AM
Dakshin Healthcare Summit
Who doesn’t want to live longer? Naturally, investors are increasingly putting money into making this a reality.
During the inaugural Dakshin Healthcare Summit in Hyderabad, Prashanth Prakash, Managing Partner and Founder of Accel India and a leading early investor in longevity in India, shared his insights on the market demand in the longevity arena and where investors are investing.
During the panel discussion on “The Secrets of Longevity – Unravelling the Science,” the moderator, Dr Arvinder Singh Soin, Chairman of the Institute of Liver Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine at Medanta, noted that the anti-ageing and longevity drugs market is booming, particularly in the United States.
“When I compared mortality figures between the US and India, they were very similar, except for TB, which accounts for 10 percent of mortality in India. Given these similarities, do you think India needs institutions focused on longevity?” Dr. Soin asked.
Answering his question, Prashanth said that investment in longevity is substantial, with about $7 billion invested so far. For example, Altos Labs received $3.5 billion in 2022, indicating that the US operates on a different level when it comes to this particular field.
The summit, organised by South First and TV9 Network, provided a platform for experts to discuss the burgeoning market for longevity and the potential for growth and innovation in India.
During the inaugural Dakshin Healthcare Summit in Hyderabad, Prashanth Prakash provided insights into the burgeoning longevity sector in India. He highlighted two main investment categories: “longevity now” and “longevity next.”
“Longevity now” encompasses four main areas:
Dr Arvinder Singh Soin, Chairman of the Institute of Liver Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine at Medanta, added, “You may look very fit and be absolutely healthy, but if you look old and haggard, people won’t realise you’re actually healthy.”
Prashanth Prakash highlighted a significant difference between longevity clinics and traditional functional medicine or preventive health care during the inaugural Dakshin Healthcare Summit in Hyderabad.
“The longevity clinic business model is based on membership,” he explained. “Membership is crucial because it ensures longitudinal ownership of the client—not a patient, but someone you’re working with.”
Dr Soin referred to these clients as ‘wellness seekers.’
Prashanth elaborated that long-term ownership isn’t inherent in the current health system, which focuses on sick care and episodic treatment.
“The membership model, also known as conscious medicine, has proven to be a sustainable revenue model. You’ll see many longevity clinics emerging in India, attracting early investment. Multi-omics-driven systems domain engineering is becoming increasingly important. When you delve into the hallmarks of aging, the complexity arises from the interrelations between these hallmarks. This requires a systems domain approach,” explained Prashanth, speaking about the focus on reaching the cellular level.
Posing a question to the audience about their coverage for preventive and predictive health care, Dr Soin asked if anyone had such coverage.
“No one? That’s exactly my point. Insurance companies need to pull up their socks and get their act together. They should fund people with low premiums to safeguard their health, to stay healthy, and to stay well. It’s far more cost-effective than paying 10 lakhs or 15 lakhs for a transplant or 8 lakhs for a cardiac bypass,” Dr Soin explained his point.
He asked Prashanth whether insurance companies should cover preventive care. Prashanth responded, “Absolutely. Once you have that ownership, it makes a significant difference. I’m seeing a new concept that goes beyond just the idea of a longevity clinic—it’s the idea of a family health office. This concept of having a family health office, with ownership and risk profiling for the family and individual, is central to providing the right insurance.”
He pointed out that a couple of companies in the US have been funded to work in conjunction with longevity clinics to provide comprehensive coverage. “Some of these treatments and nutraceuticals are not cheap, but they pay off in the long run. You mentioned repurposed drugs and other areas; the need to personalise and be specific about dosing is critical. When we talk about personalisation today, there is no longevity clinic, even in the US, that can compound and personalise nutraceuticals,” said Prashanth.
(Edited by Neena)
(South First is now on WhatsApp and Telegram)
