$1 Million Longevity Prize Seeks To "Hack The Aging Code"

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Palo Alto Prize (www.PaloAltoPrize.com), a newly established Silicon Valley-based initiative for health-related incentive prize competitions, today announced the launch of the $1 million Palo Alto Longevity Prize, challenging teams from all over the world to "hack the aging code" to improve our health and extend lifespan.

A launch event at the Golden Gate Club in San Francisco featured the unveiling of the 11 teams that have signed up to compete. Additional teams are eligible to apply for the prize until June 15, 2015.  The event included a presentation by Eric Weinstein, a Managing Director at Thiel Capital, an investment firm founded by Peter Thiel, as well as a panel discussion with team leaders.

"The current healthcare system is doing a remarkable job addressing the diseases of aging," said Dr. Joon Yun, sponsor of the Palo Alto Longevity Prize and President of Palo Alto Investors, LLC. "However, doing so without solving the underlying process of aging produces escalating effects on health care spending. We need a paradigmatic revolution. The aim of the prize is to catalyze that revolution."

"Now is the time to launch this prize because we have reached the point in science where we really do have the opportunity to solve aging," said Dr. Doris Taylor, Director of the Regenerative Medicine Research at Texas Heart Institute and one of the team leaders.

The $1 million prize will be awarded in two prizes. Teams may compete for one or both prizes.  A $500,000 prize will be awarded to the first team to demonstrate that it can restore homeostatic capacity (using heart rate variability as the surrogate measure of an aging reference mammal) to that of a young adult. A second $500,000 will be awarded to the first team that can extend lifespan by 50%.

In addition to the $1 million cash prize, the Palo Alto Prize is also working with a number of angel investors, venture capital firms, corporate venture arms, institutions and private foundations to provide access to additional capital to the teams during the competition. While the Palo Alto Prize will help facilitate introductions, all transactions and due diligence will be done privately between the teams and potential investors and philanthropists.

"Based on the rapid rate of biomedical breakthroughs, we believe the question is not if we can crack the aging code, but when will it happen." said Keith Powers, Director of the Palo Alto Prize. "The astounding ideas you've read in the public media represent just the tip of the iceberg. There are many ideas residing in the brains of brilliant minds that have not been shared. By starting the Prize now, we hope to accelerate these ideas into action."

About the Palo Alto Prize
The Palo Alto Prize is a newly established Silicon Valley-based initiative for health-related incentive prize competitions. The Palo Alto Prize is not a corporation or a non-profit entity. It does not solicit donations, offer sponsorship opportunities, or provide grants.  The mission of the Palo Alto Prize is to encourage collaboration, foster innovation, and build a community to address the underlying causes of aging.

About Dr. Joon Yun
Joon Yun, M.D., is the President of Palo Alto Investors, LLC, founded in 1989 with $1 billion in assets under management invested in healthcare. Board certified in radiology, Dr. Yun served on the clinical staff at Stanford Hospital from 2000-2006. Dr. Yun received his Bachelor of Arts in biology from Harvard University and his Doctor of Medicine from Duke University School of Medicine.

For more information
Media Center: www.paloaltoprize.com/media

Initial Team Roster:
The following teams have registered their intent to compete for the Palo Alto Longevity Prize.

• Doris Taylor, Ph.D.
  Texas Heart Institute, Houston, TX 
  http://paloaltoprize.com/team/team-taylor-lab/ ‎
  TEAM NAME:  T.H.I. REGENERATIVE MEDICINE (approach: stem cells)
  
  
• Dongsheng Cai, M.D., Ph.D.
  Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY 
  http://paloaltoprize.com/team/cai-lab/
  TEAM NAME: CAI LAB (approach: hypothalamic regulation)       
  
      
• Andreas Birkenfeld, M.D.
  Charite University School of Medicine, Berlin, Germany
  http://paloaltoprize.com/team/team-indy/
  TEAM NAME: INDY (approach: gene modification)
  
  
• Jin Hyung Lee, Ph.D. 
  Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
  http://paloaltoprize.com/team/team-lee-lab/
  TEAM NAME: LEE LAB (approach: neuromodulation)
  
  
• David Mendelowitz, Ph.D.
  George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
  http://paloaltoprize.com/team/team-mendelowitz-lab/  
  TEAM NAME:  MENDELOWITZ LAB (approach: oxytocin)
  
  
• Scott Wolf, M.D.
  Mountain View, CA
  http://paloaltoprize.com/team/volts-medical/ 
  TEAM NAME: VOLTS MEDICAL (approach: inflammatory tissues)
  
  
• Irving Zucker, Ph.D. 
  University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 
  http://paloaltoprize.com/team/team-zucker-lab/ ‎ 
  TEAM NAME:  ZUCKER LAB (approach: neuromodulation)
  
  
• Brian Olshansky, M.D.
  University of Iowa Medical Center, Iowa City, IA 
  http://paloaltoprize.com/team/team-olshansky-lab 
  TEAM NAME:  IOWA PRO-AUTONOMIA (approach: not yet public)
  
• William Sarill, M.A.
  Arlington, MA
  http://paloaltoprize.com/team/team-sarill-lab/  ‎
  TEAM NAME:  DECO  (approach: pituitary hormones)
  
  
• Steven Porges, Ph.D.
  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
  http://paloaltoprize.com/team/team-porges-lab/ 
  TEAM NAME: POLYVAGAL SCIENCE
  (approach: optimizing both the left & right vagal branches)
  
  
• Shin-Ichiro Imai, M.D., Ph.D.
  Washington University, St. Louis, MO
  http://paloaltoprize.com/team/imai-lab/
  TEAM NAME: IMAI LAB (approach: gene modification)

Palo Alto Prize Advisory Board: http://paloaltoprize.com/advisors

DAVID ARRINGTON, Associate Vice Chancellor, University Relations, UC San Francisco 
SONIA ARRISON, Author, 100 Plus  
BEN BARRES, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University 
JEAN-JACQUES BIENAIME, CEO, Biomarin 
ALBERT CHA, Managing Partner, Vivo Ventures 
STACEY CHANG, Director, Healthcare Practice at IDEO 
CHARLES CHO, M.D., Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Stanford University 
CASPER DECLERCQ, Partner, Norwest Ventures 
AUBREY DE GREY, Ph.D, Chief Science Officer, SENS Foundation
LAURA DEMING, Founder, Longevity Fund 
KERRY DOLAN, Assistant Managing Editor, Forbes 
JAMES DOTY, M.D., Professor of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Founder and Director of CCARE 
FREDERICK DOTZLER, Managing Director, De Novo Ventures 
VICTOR DZAU, M.D., President, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences 
PATRICK ENRIGHT, Founder and Managing Director, Longitude Capital 
FRANK FISCHER, President and CEO, Neuropace, Inc. 
JIM GLASHEEN, Ph.D.,General Partner, Technology Partners 
BOB HARRINGTON, M.D., Chairman, Department of Medicine, Stanford University 
STEVE HERROD, Managing Director, General Catalyst Partners
HOYOUNG HUH, Managing Director, Konus Advisory Group 
WAYNE JONAS, M.D., former Chief of the Office of Alternative Medicine, NIH
REESE JONES, Associate Founder, Singularity University; Trustee, Santa Fe Institute 
STEVE JURVETSON, Managing Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson 
NINA KJELLSON, Managing Director, Interwest Ventures 
GARHENG KONG, M.D., MBA, Managing General Partner, Sofinova Ventures 
FRANK LONGO, M.D., Chairman, Department of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Stanford University 
JOSH MAKOWER, M.D., Founder and CEO, ExploraMed 
MICHAEL MCCULLOUGH, M.D., Principal, Capricorn Healthcare & Special Opportunities 
DAN MOORE, President and CEO, Cyberonics, Inc. 
BARBARA NATTERSON-HOROWITZ, M.D., Professor of Medicine, UCLA Division of Cardiology 
OLEG NODELMAN, Managing Partner, EcoR1 Capital 
GUY P. NOHRA, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Alta Partners 
KEITH POWERS, President, Engaged Partners, Former EVP of Strategy, X PRIZE Foundation 
OGER J. QUY, Ph.D., General Partner, Technology Partners 
LEIGHTON READ, MD, Venture Partner, Alloy Ventures, Trustee, Santa Fe Institute 
AMIR RUBIN, President and CEO of Stanford Hospital & Clinic 
GRAHAM SPENCER, General Partner, Google Ventures, Trustee, Santa Fe Institute 
KEVIN STARR, Partner, Third Rock Ventures 
CAMI SAMUELS, Partner, Venrock 
STEVE VASSALLO, General Partner, Foundation Capital 
CHARLES WARDEN, Managing Director, Versant Ventures 
ERIC WEINSTEIN, Managing Director, Thiel Capital

SOURCE Palo Alto Prize