Venter Starts DNA-Scanning Company to Boost Longevity
By Robert Langreth
J. Craig Venter, the man who raced the U.S. government to sequence the first human genome, has a new goal: Help everyone live to 100, in good health.
“Our goal is to make 100-years-old the new 60,” said Peter Diamandis, who co-founded with Venter a company that aims to scan the DNA of as many as 100,000 people a year to create a massive database that will lead to new tests and therapies that can help extend healthy human life spans.
Human Longevity Inc. will use machines from Illumina Inc. (ILMN), which has a stake in the company, to decode the DNA of people from children to centenarians. San Diego-based Human Longevity will compile the information into a database that will include information on both the genome and the microbiome, the microbes that live in our gut. The aim is to help researchers understand and address diseases associated with age-related decline.
The company, with $70 million in initial funding, will focus first on cancer, according to a statement today.
“We are setting up the world’s largest human genome sequencing facility,” said Venter, who led a private team that sequenced one of the first two human genomes over a decade ago, in a telephone interview. “The goal is to promote healthy aging using advanced genomics and stem cell therapy.”
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Photographer: Evan Hurd/J. Craig Venter Institute via Bloomberg
Keep reading Venter Starts DNA-Scanning Company to Boost Longevity – Bloomberg.
