Whenever the media asks about the longevity industry, I believe this point must be made clearly — by me and by everyone working in this field: Until ageing is formally recognised as a disease, it will continue to create unnecessary and unjustifiable barriers — regulatory, financial, and even narrative. This ambiguity distorts how longevity-focused therapies are viewed, both by society and by professionals across the pharmaceutical ecosystem. It’s time to end this uncertainty once and for all. Ageing — and the diseases it drives — remain the leading killers on Earth. Humanity has already faced similar delays with the long-overdue recognition of obesity as a disease, and it should have learned that lesson. Maxim Kholin, Co-founder, Gero highlights the need for clearer approval pathways. "For longevity biotech to thrive, we need clearer pathways for therapies that don’t fit neatly into today’s categories (preventive vs therapeutic). We should recognise ageing as a disease and agree on the biomarkers of ageing that will serve as surrogate endpoints for therapies approval."