Dr. Pratana Venkatesh describes her first job proper after graduating from medical college in 2020 as a “life-changing time.” Pratana, who was solely 22 on the time, would all the time face “loads of preventable demise”. She splits her time between Chennai and the UK and lately launched Longevita, a well being and wellness startup rooted in longevity science.
She says the expertise made her take into consideration bigger well being system points and what will be achieved about them. “That is when my analysis and curiosity in longevity started… with the precept that preventable deaths and poor well being outcomes needs to be centered on earlier than they get so far.”
In accordance with Pratana, to get to the basis of well being issues, we have to deal with the mobile degree. “The whole lot that deteriorates on the mobile degree as we age is related to most cancers, neurogenesis, and cardiometabolic issues.” The tried-and-true strategies for residing a more healthy life stay the identical: consuming primarily complete meals, exercising recurrently, getting sufficient sleep, and having a powerful social community. “What I’ve discovered over the previous few years of residing a protracted life is that, sure, it is all about life-style,” she agrees.
That mentioned, she additionally feels that this era is the primary to know a lot in regards to the getting older pathway and the science of getting older. “That is a part of why longevity science is so thrilling proper now. We perceive these mechanisms so properly that the query turns into how will we modify and goal them,” she says, including that it’s totally tough to focus on these particular pathways and stop getting older via life-style alone. “When you perceive the science, it’s totally intuitive to need to goal these scientifically confirmed pathways, and there is loads of secure analysis round these molecules,” she says.
physician’s dream
Pratana spent her childhood in Myanmar, the place her dad and mom, each docs from Chennai, moved there about 30 years in the past. She says rising up in a rustic with “the worst well being care system on the planet” sparked her curiosity in drugs. “Because of the political and social scenario, docs in Burma usually are not well-trained, so from an early age I watched how individuals who might afford it had been leaving the nation for medical care.”
Pratana pursued medical research within the UK, graduating on the high of his class and started coaching in cardiac surgical procedure at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. “Though I used to be progressing fairly shortly and had nice surgical mentors, I additionally acknowledged that it could take one other eight to 10 years to repeat the identical surgical procedure time and again,” she says. Moreover, the constraints of the NHS system started to fret her. “That was inefficient, so I began fascinated with prevention as a substitute. I considered having a broader influence on individuals’s well being via preventive drugs.”
In 2023, she accomplished her MBA at London Enterprise Faculty, the place she deepened her understanding of the startup ecosystem. Analysis and growth for Longevita started about two years in the past, Pratana mentioned, and the corporate launched the ultimate product within the UK in January and in India a couple of weeks in the past. The complement is manufactured within the UK, is vegan with no fillers or preservatives, and comprises bioavailable NAD+ precursors, senolytics and superior antioxidants, in accordance with the corporate’s web site.
Past the product
The dialog about longevity has exploded in recent times, and what was as soon as a distinct segment, usually humorous pseudoscience practiced by a couple of Silicon Valley biohackers is transferring into the mainstream. In accordance with a report printed by market evaluation agency Market Analysis Future, the business is predicted to develop from USD 23.5 billion in 2025 to USD 63.03 billion by 2035, with a compound annual development charge (CAGR) of 10.37% over the forecast interval 2025-2035.
However whereas everybody talks about “longevity,” it is truly not in regards to the ice baths, plasma infusions, focused dietary supplements, purple mild remedy, intermittent fasting, and over-reliance on the wearable expertise we frequently affiliate with it. “The quick realization is that we’ll stay lengthy and turn out to be immortal,” Pratana mentioned. I agree that flooding social media with info from the biohacking neighborhood and selling doubtful options to realize it’s problematic. “I feel individuals are doing loads of unethical and dangerous issues within the identify of biohacking. And it is scary.”
Quite, Pratana says, longevity is about wholesome getting older. He desires his model to be greater than only a product. She additionally desires the model to turn out to be a trusted supply of schooling in an unregulated wellness business “stuffed with seemingly reliable individuals who resort to excessive actions within the identify of staying wholesome.” She plans to make use of Longevita’s social media accounts to do that, offering the newest info on the longevity business, sleep and diet analysis, and extra women-focused information to extend literacy on the subject of longevity. She added, “Constructing neighborhood is an enormous focus of mine.”
issued – March 24, 2026 5:22 PM IST
