Hevolution Foundation, Saudi $ Billions into Anti-Aging

News
#24

We commonly have startup companies in the Silicon Valley that operate in “stealth mode” until they have a product and are ready to launch.

In Saudi Arabia they seem to have the opposite; organizations that are active and working for a few years, then decide to go into stealth if they sniff any potential negative publicity …

I’m not sure why they pulled down their active website, but I’m hoping it is because the are re-organizing the group and fixing the problematic elements of their organization - a board of advisors stacked with family, billionaires, and the son of a Russian oligarch, as well as omissions in terms of addressing the open issues that the public is concerned about longevity research - like potential inequalities, unintended consequences, etc

They mentioned in their Introduction on their website (see below) that they are a “A Transparent Global Organization”… but it seems like their transparency doesn’t go too far if they remove their website as soon as the group is announced at an aging conference. Does this type of behavior give any hope the the group will truly be transparent? Will they address the issues that could give them negative publicity?

It seems that when they pulled down the website they didn’t realize that once things are on the internet, they are usually permanently on the internet… as can be seen from the screen captures I’ve obtained of their old website and included below.

The Board of Trustees seems to be a mix of family and friends of MBS, many coming out of the management and advisors of $450 Billion Saudi Public Investment Fund. I may be missing it, but it there seems to be relatively little expertise in the field of bio/medical, pharma or public health expertise (other than Dr. Khan), so it is not at all the typical type of board you would see in any traditional and well-managed health-focused foundation, where people typically have a long track record in working towards public health improvements. The Hevolution Foundation board of trustees looks much more like a prince getting together with some billionaire and oligarch friends and contacts to fund biotech so that they can live forever. None of the Hevolution board looks to have a history of trying to help anyone but themselves. Look for example, at the boards at the following organizations, and compare it to the Saudi Helevation Foundation board below:

The Gates Foundation:

Mission Statement: Our mission is to create a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life.
Co-chairs and Board of Trustees

The foundation’s leaders come from a broad range of backgrounds and have a diversity of expertise and experience that spans science and technology, medicine, public policy, education, communications, law, and business. Our leaders are guided by the foundation’s mission to create a world in which every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life.

The Welcome Trust:

Welcome Trust Mission: Wellcome supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone.
Welcome Trust Board of Governors

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Mission Statement: HHMI is a nonprofit research organization and philanthropy. Our mission is to advance the discovery and sharing of scientific knowledge to benefit us all. We do this by supporting talented scientists, educators, and students – encouraging them to stay curious, pursue tough scientific questions, and contribute to making science more inclusive.
HHMI Board of Trustees

The Hevolution Foundation:

Stated Mission: “to expand healthy human lifespan for the benefit of all humanity”
Hevolution Board of Trustees:

Hevolution Foundation Management:

Some screen captures of the former/old Hevolution Website:

HelevationFoundation_introduction_V3
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Helevation_Foundation_board-team_V3
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Helevation_management-team_V3
Helevation_management-team_V31920×1803 100 KB

HelevationFoundation_ContactInfo_V3
HelevationFoundation_ContactInfo_V31920×2373 105 KB

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#26

Interesting - the group decided to make their old site live again today, after the MIT Tech Review published their article:

https://hevolutionfoundation.com

I hope they address the issues that could hinder the foundation in achieving its stated goals…

#27

Interesting… since they’ve relaunched / reopened their website, I thought I’d go through and see if anything has changed…

Apparently “Transparency” is lower priority now … officially. Though what exactly the term “transparency” means in a monarchy that is famous for lack of transparency is anyone’s guess… Saudi Arabia is one of the least transparent countries in the world…

In the old website (pre-shutdown - see pages above) they had this section higher in their Introduction - but now they’ve moved it to a lower priority (I guess):

A Transparent Global Organization

Hevolution was founded to make these great leaps forward possible. As a non-profit organization devoted to collaboration and sharing information, we seek to democratize science and knowledge, by creating partnerships, offering grants, and making investments in the longevity space.

Our highly experienced management team has assembled a staff of elite scientists, clinicians, grant experts and investment professionals, and is guided by a Board of Trustees and advisory panels comprising thought-leaders from all over the world.

We are dedicated to supporting cutting-edge, peer-reviewed science, particularly applied research, focused on accelerating therapeutic approaches to aging, including drug discovery and delivery in key areas of biology that underpin aging. We are able to fund science to a larger scale and with longer investment horizons than traditional venture capital, and with a more commercial mindset than traditional academic research.

And they added a few more details - such as the $1 Billion annual budget:

Our initial funding comes from a variety of donors, including the government of Saudi Arabia. Our annual budget of up to $1 billion USD enables us to accelerate science and bring therapies to the market.

And the “other donors”? Are the Russian oligarchs in on this? Do Saudi non-profits have to disclose the source of their donations?

#28

The discussion on Reddit on the MIT Tech Review story:

#29

Commentary:

#30

Way more decorum on this forum.

#31

There are many dark humor jokes flying around at the Saudi’s (MBS) expense these days…

Apparently the backstory is that Filipe Sierra surprised the Saudi team by talking about Hevolution at American Aging Association Annual Conference in San Antonio two weeks ago. This was not part of the plan. The Saudi team went into crisis mode (my visitors count from Saudi Arabia went through the roof that week), they took down their website, and when the MIT Tech Review (Antonio Regalado) went ahead with the story despite minimal support from Helevation they then turned on their website again (yesterday).

The joke flying around is “hope they don’t give Filipe Sierra the Kashoggi treatment”. He better not fly to Turkey to “meet” anyone at the Saudi Embassy.

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#32

Commentary from Longevity Biotech and Geroscience researchers / insiders:

#33

The headline writers are getting creative:

and, this also popped up in my search, from a few months ago - seems like MBS best employ a large, and full-time team of PR people to counter the free press:

But - the pretense that MBS / Saudi Government is funding Hevolution Found to help the aging population in Saudi Arabia is laughable (vs. the much more likely issue of MBS wanting to live much longer). Only 3% of the Saudi population is over age 65.

#34

MBS is washing everywhere, including sports.

Poaching golfers from the PGA tour. Tiger Woods was reportedly offered $1BB

#35

Ah yes, some take the money, others refuse…

LIV Golf: The new series, bankrolled by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, is billing itself as “an opportunity to reinvigorate golf” through rich paydays, star players and slick marketing. “Golf but louder,” goes one of its slogans.

How much money are we talking about?

The LIV Golf events are the richest tournaments in golf history — this week’s total purse is $25 million, with a $20 million pot for the individual event and $5 million more to split in the team competition. The winner’s share this week is $4 million, and the last-place finisher at each event is guaranteed $120,000.

And that is on top of the appearance fees and signing-on payouts individual players have accepted. Phil Mickelson is being paid a reported $200 million to take part, and Dustin Johnson, the highest-ranked player to sign up-to-date, is said to have been tempted by an offer worth $150 million. Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed,

#36

“Mohammed bin Salman Says He’s the Real Victim of Jamal Khashoggi Killing”

Is this from the Ministry of Truth?

1 Like
#37

Related…

#38

Given that Hevolution seems to be a combination of the Saudi/oil money and the Russian Oligarch choices below (because of the Oligarch-son, board member), it seems that somewhere between 26.4% and 85% of researchers would be hesitant to take funding from the group:

Screen Shot 2022-06-10 at 12.15.13 PM
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From this tweet:

#39

Latest Presentations by Hevolution Foundation Chief Scientific Officer (Filipe Sierra) and other presenters:

European Congress of Internal Medicine, Hevolution Foundation presentation, and others

#40
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#41

Most everyone would happily repair each of their body parts if it were easy and free, but they believe it is wrong to repair the body as a whole. If they knew that repairing all the parts would extend life, would they do it?

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#42

I just ran into this new article on Saudi Arabia and I think its the one article I’ve seen in a long time that gives me any really positive perspectives on the country and even the leadership. Its great to see the progress. I think if they can just continue focusing on the social / economic progress (and ultimately political process), and stop the really bad things that get all the negative press, eventually they will become more welcome in the western world:

The truth is, Mohammed, you have been responsible for the most radical social and religious reforms in Saudi Arabia’s modern history — liberating women to drive, easing the male guardianship system that required women to get permission from men for a variety of work and travel activities, curtailing the role of the religious police, permitting rock concerts and allowing women to attend soccer games and young boys and girls to mix normally.

These reforms were long overdue and are still insufficient. But none of your predecessors dared to attempt them, and the changes have been enormously popular, particularly with young women.

Source:

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#43

In the first ever media interview, Hevolution Foundation CEO Dr. Mehmood Khan told Al Arabiya English that the initiative aims to be the first non-profit to pursue age-related therapeutic breakthroughs. It is committed to funding global scientific discovery, and investing in private companies and entrepreneurs who are dedicated to advancing aging science.

“By accelerating scientific research, we can actually decelerate aging and its consequences,” Khan told Al Arabiya English. “We see aging as the second-most pressing challenge to humanity, after climate change.”

He continued, “Worldwide, the experience of aging is not improving very much. The average lifespan has risen dramatically over the past century or so, but the number of people with chronic diseases has also risen. We are living longer, but not necessarily better.”

The UK-Russian newspaper proprietor Lord Evgeny Lebedev has joined the board of a non-profit enterprise created by the Saudi Government, holding his position alongside Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – who, according to US intelligence services, personally approved the capturing and killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The enterprise is called Hevolution – founded to research the science of anti-ageing, which is a preoccupation of many wealthy ‘philanthropists’.

Alexander Lebedev, Evgeny’s father and the source of the family’s wealth, was a KGB officer in London from 1988 to 1992.

Moving into the financial sector, Lebedev senior amassed vast personal wealth – listed as the 39th richest Russian by Forbes in 2008, with an estimated wealth of $3.1 billion, which diminished after one of his Russian newspapers published an exposé about Russian President Vladimir Putin and his alleged affair with a famed gymnast.

Evgeny Lebedev is a renowned figure in London high society and has seemingly been a close acquaintance of Crown Prince bin Salman for some time. Indeed, Evgeny hosted a dinner with him in 2018, during the latter’s state visit to the UK. They were joined by Virgin co-founder Richard Branson, whose spokesperson confirmed bin Salman’s attendance.

Moreover, Lebedev Holdings – which in turn owns the Evening Standard and Independent – has been accused by the UK Government of being part-owned by the Saudi state, due to a series of “unconventional, complex and clandestine” deals involving a Saudi businessman that resulted in a 30% acquisition of the firm.

#44