GI Innovation Advances to Finals of Global XPRIZE Healthspan Competition

GI Innovation and its affiliate GI Longevity announced Wednesday they have been selected as finalists in the XPRIZE Healthspan competition, the world's largest international contest focused on extending healthy human lifespan.

The GI Innovation consortium advanced from the "Top 40" — named in May last year — to the final 20 teams, out of more than 600 entrants from 58 countries. The team received an official invitation to the Finalist Awards Ceremony held in Utah and to a Team Summit to discuss collaboration with global research teams.

The XPRIZE Healthspan is a seven-year competition with a total purse of $101 million. It challenges participants to develop treatments that restore muscle, cognitive and immune function in adults aged 50 to 90 to levels at least 10 years younger, within one year of treatment.

GI Innovation's strategy combines ultra-low-dose immune-oncology drug GI-102, designed to reverse immune aging, with GI Longevity's probiotic GIB-7 to simultaneously improve gut health, muscle function and physical mobility.

A Phase 2a clinical trial is currently underway at Samsung Medical Center and two clinical institutions in Australia, with results showing increases in activated natural killer (NK) cells alongside improvements in muscle strength and physical activity markers.

Lee Woo-yong, a professor at Samsung Medical Center overseeing the Korean trial, said: "The findings are significant in that they show the possibility that restoring immune function can in fact lead to improvements in muscle strength and physical mobility among older adults."

Jang Myung-ho, chief executive of GI Innovation, said the company's immune-restoration approach with GI-102 earned high marks from the judges, securing the finalist spot. "We will pursue a partnership to complement our cognitive function capabilities and compete for the top prize," he said.