SAN ANTONIO – The Alamo City is at the forefront of a groundbreaking national effort to help people live longer, healthier lives.
It’s the driving mission of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, known as ARPA-H, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The agency reached out to FOX San Antonio anchor Ashley Paredez with an exclusive opportunity to share the major announcement as it invests in cutting-edge research aimed at preventing aging and reversing it. That national effort includes the University of Texas at San Antonio playing a leading role by launching a first-of-its-kind clinical trial.
The process of aging is being reimagined.
“What if we could treat people and say, ‘Let’s prevent that decline and allow those people to live longer, healthier lives with more vitality?’” said Andrew Brack, who leads PROSPR, the program at the center of this shift.
It’s a breakthrough that could redefine what it means to grow older.
For decades, the nation’s medical system has focused on treating disease after it appears. Now, that’s changing.
“You get a disease, and you treat the symptoms,” Brack said. “Well, that person’s already gone through a loss of health and a loss of function. So we want to think about how we can reform health care into a more preventative system.”
Brack leads PROSPR, which represents a $144 million investment over five years to develop new strategies, interventions, and medicines designed to stop decline before it begins.
Seven research teams nationwide were selected, with UT San Antonio playing a leading role. The Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies will receive up to $38 million to help break new ground.
“This is going to be the first trial that will say, ‘Can we develop medicines that actually treat aging?’” Brack said.
The first-of-its-kind clinical study will test whether three existing FDA-approved drugs, including a common diabetes medication, can delay age-related decline in generally healthy adults ages 60 to 65.
Jennifer Potter, senior executive vice president for research and innovation at UT San Antonio, said the effort is rooted in science.
“This is something that’s rooted in science,” Potter said. “We want to understand, with the best evidence possible, what gives each person the very best opportunity to live the life of wellness they deserve for as long as possible without suffering.”
Researchers will soon begin recruiting participants directly from South Texas.
“To have the opportunity that the people who are participating in this — that the nation and the world will learn from the gift of individuals who participate in this trial — is extraordinary,” Potter said.
PROSPR aims to build a therapeutic aging industry in a short amount of time by measuring and developing treatments that target the earliest phases of health decline, suggesting that science may unlock a modern-day fountain of youth.
“We want this to go to every American,” Brack said. “This is not medicines for billionaires. We want this to be affordable so every American can benefit from this.”
To sign up for this trial and others relating to aging, https://barshopinstitute.uthscsa.edu/clinical-trials/