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Today Academia Sinica is pleased to announce the launch of the Healthy Longevity Global Competition: a collaborative project with the National Academy of Medicine (United States) and seven other international organizations. This is a multi-year, multimillion-dollar worldwide contest designed to achieve breakthrough innovations that can help extend human health and function in the later years of life. In Taiwan, Academia Sinica and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) have formed an alliance to support and promote this project at the national level.

Taiwan is projected to become a super-aged society in 2026, with more than 20% of its population aged 65 or older. By 2065, for every 10 people in Taiwan, 4 will be aged 65 or older, and one of those 4 will be over age 85. Therefore, one of the most pressing issues we face today is to ensure a healthy aging process so that our economy and social structure can remain stable and flourishing.

Academia Sinica is Taiwan’s leading research institution. Our mission is to achieve global peaks of excellence and benefit human society by focusing on critical issues with pioneering research. We support efforts to increase global awareness of healthy longevity and are committed to taking a leading role in launching new initiatives that will result in paradigm-shift discoveries to prevent or cure diseases, increase quality of life, and minimize the negative impacts of an aging population.

The Healthy Longevity Global Competition provides an unprecedented opportunity to join forces with the global community in achieving insights and breakthroughs that can ensure healthy aging. This competition consists of three phases:

• Catalyst Phase Starting in 2020, approximately 450 awards worth US$50,000 each will be issued as seed funding to advance innovative ideas. Awardees will be invited to attend an annual Innovators Summit (the first to be held in Summer 2021) to share their work with policymakers, researchers, potential investors, and fellow innovators from around the world.

• Accelerator Phase Starting in 2021, awards from US$500,000 to $1,000,000 or more will be issued to Catalyst Phase awardees who have demonstrated significant progress in order to support the further advancement of their ideas.

• Grand Prize Starting in 2023, one or more grand prize(s) of up to US$5,000,000 will be awarded for breakthrough innovations that extend the human health span.

Academia Sinica will support up to 10 Catalyst Awards in 2020. Proposals for the first cycle of the Catalyst Phase will be accepted from January 6 to February 14, 2020. All proposals will be evaluated entirely on the basis of creativity and innovation rather than pre-existing data, demonstrated work, institutional capabilities, or feasibility.

The National Academy of Medicine serves alongside the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering as an adviser to United States and the international community. Through its domestic and global initiatives, the National Academy of Medicine works to address critical issues in health, medicine, and related policies, as well as inspire positive action across sectors.

Other organizations supporting Catalyst Awards include the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, EIT Health (supported by the European Union), Singapore’s Ministry of Health and National Research Foundation, United Kingdom Research and Innovation, National Academy of Medicine (supported by Johnson & Johnson Innovation), and National Institute on Aging.