George Church, Russell Foster and Fátima Bosch are among the international researchers confirmed for the fifth edition of the congress, which will analyse the scientific advances and opportunities of an industry that already mobilises 7.3 billion dollars annually in investment.
The science of longevity is going through a stage of strong scientific and business expansion. Genetic research, biotechnology, preventive medicine and new diagnostic technologies are driving an international market that seeks to extend the years of healthy life. A transformation that will have one of its main meeting points in Madrid, from 10 to 12 February 2027, with the fifth edition of the Longevity World Forum (LWF).
The congress will bring together researchers, doctors, biotechnology companies, startups, investors and healthcare professionals at La Nave to analyse the advances that are changing the understanding of ageing and the possibilities of intervening in its mechanisms. Among the confirmed international names are George Church, Russell Foster and Fátima Bosch, three researchers whose careers represent fundamental fields for the future of medicine: genomics, chronobiology and gene therapy.
The relevance of the meeting coincides with the growth of an industry that is attracting multi-million-dollar investments. The second Global Healthspan Report, produced by Hevolution Foundation, estimates that investment in activities directly related to extending healthy life expectancy reached 7.3 billion dollars in 2024, more than double the 3.48 billion recorded the previous year. It is the second largest volume of investment in the historical series, surpassed only by the 8.8 billion dollars of 2021.
The economic dimension of longevity is linked to a demographic change of global scope. The population over 60 years of age could reach 2.1 billion people by 2050. The health challenge consists of ensuring that this greater life expectancy is accompanied by autonomy, functional capacity and good health for more years.
The Hevolution report includes estimates that place at up to 40 trillion dollars the economic value that an additional year of healthy life expectancy could generate in the United States. In low- and middle-income countries, interventions against non-communicable diseases could produce annual benefits of 220 billion dollars by 2050. China offers another reference for the potential of the so-called silver economy: its market could reach 4.2 trillion dollars by 2035, close to 10% of its GDP.
The demand for solutions related to healthspan is also beginning to be reflected in medical consultations. Two thirds of the healthcare professionals surveyed by Hevolution say they receive questions from their patients about these interventions at least once a month. Among the consumers surveyed, 49% state that they would be willing to pay up to the equivalent of half a year of their income for a therapy capable of extending their healthy life expectancy by ten years.
This interest drives different segments of activity: from wearables, devices, whose global market could reach 231 billion dollars by 2032, to advanced diagnostic laboratories and clinics specialising in longevity. Investment is directed towards technologies capable of studying people's biological state, identifying risks and developing more individualised preventive interventions.
Three international figures to analyse the future of longevity
The scientific dimension will be one of the central axes of the Longevity World Forum 2027. Among the confirmed researchers is George Church, professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and one of the most recognised international figures in genomics and synthetic biology.
His work has contributed to the development of genetic sequencing technologies, cellular and tissue engineering and new biotechnological applications. He also directs PersonalGenomes.org, an initiative for open access to human genomic and phenotypic information. His participation will allow deeper exploration of the possibilities of genetic engineering and synthetic biology for understanding the mechanisms of ageing and addressing age-associated diseases.
Russell Foster, director of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford and founder of the Sleep and Circadian Research Institute, will bring the perspective of neuroscience and chronobiology. He is an international authority in the study of sleep and circadian rhythms, and his research has contributed to identifying light detection systems in the eye related to the regulation of the biological clock.
The relationship between sleep, light, metabolism and ageing constitutes a line of research of special interest for preventive medicine. Changes in circadian rhythms associated with age, illness and social habits have consequences on different physiological functions and offer new avenues for studying long-term health.
The Spanish researcher Fátima Bosch, professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and director of the Centre for Animal Biotechnology and Gene Therapy (CBATEG), completes this group of additions. Her career is linked to the development of transgenic animal models and the application of gene therapy in metabolic diseases.
Bosch created Spain's first transgenic animal laboratory at the UAB in 1990. Her research represents one of the lines of work with potential for developing new therapeutic strategies against metabolic pathologies, many of them closely related to ageing and the loss of functional health.
The three new additions offer complementary perspectives on the biological mechanisms that shape our health throughout life and on the possibilities that research offers to intervene in them.
An expanding industry that needs clinical evidence
The development of longevity as an economic sector is fostering the emergence of new business models. Specialized clinics, diagnostic centers, biotechnology companies and medical technology providers are competing to meet a demand that seeks prevention, personalization and greater control over the evolution of health.
The market presents significant opportunities, although it also poses scientific and regulatory demands. The proliferation of genetic tests, biomarkers, therapies and commercial protocols makes it necessary to distinguish between tools with proven clinical utility, technologies that are still experimental and interventions whose real benefit requires further research.
The quality of future longevity services will depend on their ability to integrate diagnosis, medical interpretation and follow-up, preventing the accumulation of tests or treatments from replacing a well-founded clinical strategy. The evaluation of results, safety and transparency regarding the level of evidence will be decisive for the credibility of the sector.
Precisely, the Longevity World Forum aims to connect these different areas: scientific research, technological development and entrepreneurship. Its fifth edition will address issues related to genetics, epigenetics, preventive medicine, artificial intelligence, nutrition, exercise, biotechnology and regenerative medicine, as well as the economic and social impact of a longer-lived population.
Madrid will thus host a new edition of a meeting that seeks to bring international research closer to the business and healthcare ecosystem. The evolution of this industry will depend on its ability to transform scientific discoveries into safe, accessible and clinically relevant solutions.
The difference between lifespan y healthspan summarizes the challenge at the center of this debate: extending life and, at the same time, preserving autonomy, physical and cognitive capacity and quality of life for more years. The future of longevity will be decided both in laboratories and in medical practice and in the industry's ability to deliver results that can be demonstrated.
Longevity World Forum 2027
February 10, 11 and 12, 2027
La Nave, Madrid
www.longevityworldforum.com
