National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University announced its participation in a scoping study on Global Healthspan Extension Initiative in collaboration with Centre for the Advancement of Sustainable Medical Innovation (CASMI) University of Oxford, the Biogerontology Research Foundation (BGRF) and other international academic and industry thought leaders to develop strategic options for economic development focusing on extending productive healthy longevity of the population using latest breakthroughs in science and technology.

"The global healthspan extension program we are developing is first of its kind, but may serve as a model for other countries that are committed to innovation and technological progress. The idea is simple: identify the most promising technologies required to extend healthy productive longevity of the entire population to keep people healthier and more productive for as long as it is possible. To do that we partnered with the best minds from all over the world and conducted thorough analytical studies," said Zhaxybay Zhumadilov, General Director of the National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University.

So far we completed two workshops, one invitation-only forum at the University of Oxford and another in Astana at the Nazarbayev University. The forum in Astana coincided with the 4th International Conference on Regenerative Medicine and Healthy Aging and included a workshop, where first results of the scoping study were presented and reviewed by prominent scientists, industry players and policy makers including the head of CASMI Dr. Richard Barker, the former director of the Human Genome Project Dr. Charles Cantor and many others.

"What we see is emerging worldwide is the new productive longevity theory of economic growth. The number of senior citizens is rapidly increasing and if left unchecked will slow down growth even in countries where the majority of the population is young. However, if we keep the retired and retiring population healthy and engaged, we may see unprecedented economic growth," said Massimo Pignatelli, dean of School of medicine at Nazarbayev University.

The Global Healthspan Extension Initiative already attracted many innovative technology companies from the U.S, the U.K, Norway, Sweden, France and Germany, and resulted in perspective collaborations and partnerships with many companies indicating their intent to set up research and development offices in Kazakhstan for perspective longevity research.