Dr. Mehmood Khan on Longevity Policy, Health Equity, and the Power of Unified Action
In a world where aging has long been viewed as a private matter—something personal, inevitable, and often feared—a quiet revolution is underway. At the forefront of this shift is Dr. Mehmood Khan, CEO of the Hevolution Foundation, and a seasoned leader who has spent years shaping global health, food security, and longevity innovation across sectors.
At a recent fireside discussion during the Global Healthspan Summit, Dr. Khan offered a bold and timely perspective: aging is not just a medical challenge—it’s a global policy priority. His vision goes far beyond laboratories and clinical trials. It calls for the integration of science, policy, public-private partnerships, and public trust to turn longer life expectancy into a truly healthier and more equitable reality.
Let’s explore the insights he shared—and why they matter now more than ever.
A Global Opportunity in Disguise
For most of human history, aging was inseparable from decline. But today, thanks to scientific advances in genomics, cellular biology, and artificial intelligence, we’re beginning to decouple age from illness. Yet as Dr. Khan reminds us, science alone is not enough.
“We’ve never had this kind of opportunity before in human history,” he said. “But the science won’t matter unless we get the delivery right.”
That delivery—bringing longevity innovations to real people in real time—depends not just on biology, but on systems, leadership, and political will.
According to Khan, we’re at a crossroads: either we treat aging as a social and economic liability, or we reframe it as a scalable, inclusive opportunity for global wellbeing.
Hevolution’s Mission: Extending Healthspan, Not Just Lifespan
Founded with an ambitious vision, the Hevolution Foundation is not your typical philanthropic body. Its mission? To “catalyze the healthspan economy” by funding science, supporting education, and advancing equitable access to age-related innovations.
Under Dr. Khan’s leadership, Hevolution is deploying strategic capital to build what he calls an ecosystem of coordinated progress—from early research to regulatory policy to grassroots engagement.
The foundation operates with a singular belief: everyone deserves to age well, not just the wealthy or genetically lucky. This means investing in:
- Translational research that bridges the lab-to-clinic gap
- Policy frameworks that support proactive, preventive aging care
- Partnerships with governments, companies, and civil society
- Public education to reduce stigma and misinformation about longevity science
“Aging is not a niche,” Khan said. “It touches every human being, every health system, and every economy.”
The Policy Blind Spot
As longevity biotech begins to mature, one of the greatest bottlenecks is no longer technology—but regulatory readiness. Khan believes governments are still using frameworks built for a disease model of care, not one focused on preventing decline before it begins.
Right now, aging is not officially recognized as a disease or a treatable condition by most regulatory bodies. This prevents longevity-focused therapies from being approved, reimbursed, or even properly trialed in many countries.
Dr. Khan calls this “the policy blind spot”—a dangerous delay in aligning governance with science.
“We don’t need to convince science. We need to convince policymakers that this matters to national budgets, to quality of life, to productivity.”
Hevolution is actively engaging with governments and international organizations to integrate healthy aging into public health agendas, especially in low- and middle-income countries where aging populations are growing fastest.
Aging Is a Social Justice Issue
One of the most compelling arguments Dr. Khan makes is that aging must be understood not just through the lens of biology, but of equity.
In many parts of the world, people still age without access to basic care, let alone advanced longevity science. Healthspan—years lived in good health—is deeply stratified by income, geography, and education.
“If we allow longevity to become the next luxury good,” Khan warns, “we’ve failed before we’ve begun.”
His vision is not about billionaires living to 150. It’s about creating platforms for healthspan equity—ensuring that an 80-year-old in rural Africa has the same chance at a vital life as someone in Silicon Valley.
This means thinking globally, acting locally, and funding both high-tech science and community-based delivery.
Building Trust in Longevity Science
A crucial theme in Dr. Khan’s message is public trust. He emphasizes that science moves at the speed of credibility—and if the public doesn’t trust longevity research, or sees it as inaccessible or elitist, progress will stall.
That’s why communication, transparency, and storytelling are so vital. It’s not enough to show molecular pathways. We must also show human impact—how these breakthroughs can help grandparents stay mobile, help caregivers stay strong, and help societies remain resilient.
“Trust is earned,” Khan said. “And it must be earned through inclusion, transparency, and results.”
Collaboration Over Competition
In the competitive world of biotech, companies often guard their findings tightly. But Khan believes that longevity, as a global challenge, demands a new mindset—radical collaboration.
This doesn’t mean abandoning competition or intellectual property. It means creating shared infrastructure—open datasets, harmonized protocols, and cooperative clinical frameworks—that allow the field to move faster together.
“This isn’t just about one company’s success. It’s about human success.”
To that end, Hevolution supports multi-stakeholder partnerships and open-science consortia, making it easier for small startups and academic teams to contribute meaningfully.
The Role of the Private Sector
While Hevolution is a nonprofit, Khan believes the private sector plays a crucial role in driving aging innovation. But he also cautions that companies must align profit with purpose.
“You can’t just chase returns,” he said. “You have to create value that endures—and that includes public health value.”
He calls on biotech and pharma leaders to think beyond the next funding round and consider how their products will be regulated, adopted, and accessed at scale. That means anticipating the needs of health ministries, not just shareholders.
A Call to Action: Now, Not Later
For Khan, the time to act is now. Aging isn’t a future crisis—it’s a current one. And yet, it is also our greatest untapped opportunity.
By investing in healthspan today, we can reduce healthcare costs, increase productivity, and—most importantly—enhance the dignity and quality of life for billions.
But doing so requires more than good science. It requires governments that care, policies that adapt, and cultures that value aging as a stage of vitality—not obsolescence.
Final Thoughts: A New Narrative for Aging
Dr. Mehmood Khan’s vision is not just technical. It’s deeply human.
He invites us to see aging not as a problem to solve, but as a shared experience to improve. In his words, we must transition from “adding years to life” to “adding life to years.”
Through the work of Hevolution and a growing global movement, aging is being reimagined as a policy issue, a social imperative, and a scientific frontier.
But the real work—the work of turning research into access, of turning potential into equity—requires all of us.
Because aging doesn’t belong to one industry, one government, or one generation. It belongs to everyone.
And so does the responsibility—and opportunity—to do better.