The Silvers Series VI: The Methuselah Complex and an Industry Thriving on the Promise of Longevity

Executive Summary

• In this, the sixth in our Silvers Series of reports on consumers aged 65 and older, we look at three sectors that encompass various antiaging and life-extension treatments and therapies. The first is beauty, including antiaging cosmeceuticals. Worldwide, consumers spent $24.3 billion on antiaging facial skincare in 2015, which was equivalent to 29% of total global facial care product sales last year.
• The nutraceuticals sector includes nutritional supplements and functional foods that promote health, and consumers worldwide spent some $166 billion on these products in 2014.
• The third sector is regenerative medicine, a branch of medicine dedicated to restoring degenerated cells, tissues and organs. The sector received some $2.5 billion in funding in 2015 in the US alone.

Developers of antiaging technologies face a number of significant challenges in terms of regulatory approval, ethical implications, mass-market affordability and efficacy in prolonging healthy life.