Top PepsiCo Exec Wants You to Live Forever

Do you want to live forever? One day, it might be possible. The anti-aging industry is booming now more than ever. In a big move, PepsiCo Inc.’s top scientist is leaving his job to join the anti-aging research fight. Dr. Mehmood Khan, Chief Scientific Officer of Global Research and Development of PepsiCo Inc., is taking the job as CEO of Life Biosciences Inc.

Dr. Khan will lead the Boston-based biotech company, which has raised more than $75 million to pursue the eight pathways of age-related decline (ARD). The goal of Life Biosciences Inc. is to help people live longer and healthier lives. Harvard Medical School genetics professor David Sinclair and investor Tristan Edwards founded Life Biosciences Inc in 2017.

According to Edwards, former Chief Executive Officer of Life Biosciences, who remains President:

“We are proud and humbled by Mehmood’s decision to join and lead our company. He brings a remarkable depth of business and scientific expertise to our team, and is exactly the right leader for Life Biosciences as we enter our next phase of growth.”

Dr. Khan worked with Life Biosciences before, overseeing the brand’s global sustainability initiatives. Dr. Khan says he has been following the advances in anti-aging technology for years and believes science is at the cutting edge of something groundbreaking.

In a press release, Dr. Khan said;

“Tristan and David have done a remarkable job establishing Life Biosciences as the leader in the longevity space. Under their guidance, the company has grown tremendously and has already made much progress in tackling the issues of age-related decline. I’m excited to now work beside them in this next phase, continuing to grow and advance Life Biosciences.”

The anti-aging and longevity arena is big for startups right now. Unity Biotechnology Inc. is developing medicines that, “halt, slow or reverse age-associated diseases, while restoring human health.” Calico Life Sciences LLC is a secretive anti-aging company backed by Google parent Alphabet Inc. The company says they are, “using advanced technologies to devise interventions that enable people to lead longer and healthier lives.”

Read More: Quantum Archeology and 3D-Bioprinting Could Make us Immortal

The anti-aging market boom is not just about hoping to “live forever” but improving the quality of life during the final chapters. Case in point, hundreds of people gather each year for the growing and popular RAADFest (Revolution Against Aging and Death). The convention where “Biotech meets Woodstock” is dedicated to reversing human aging.

Dr. Bill Andrews is an expert on finding ways to extend the human lifespan and healthspan through cell maintenance. He’s popular in the anti-aging technology world and at the last RAADFest in San Diego talked about the major progress that is being made.

After explaining success in his latest Alzheimer’s research trial, Andrews referenced the movie Star Trek First Contact. Dr. Andrews said he wants to be there when aliens come to earth to meet us.

RAADFest is put on by the non-profit Coalition for Radical Life Extension and is supported by dozens of groups including the Transhumanist Party and other “anti-death activists.”

There are plenty of other “anti-aging” technologies that are making headlines. Life Extension Foundation co-founder Bill Faloon advertised a clinical trial that offered the elderly blood transfusions from young donors. Faloon claims the trial showed promising results in mice. The Harvard startup Rejuvenate Bio is also working on technology to reverse the process of aging in dogs. It’s suggested the company is modifying certain genes to eliminate disease.

While the quest to live forever seems impossible, humans have already come a long way when it comes to immortality. In 1900, the average life expectancy was 47 years old. Today, the average life expectancy is around 78 years old.

Dr. Khan starts his new job at Life Biosciences on April 1, 2019.

Read More: Harvard Geneticist’s Fountain of Youth Can Pause Aging – For Mice