Longevity Needs a Scientific Sanity Check: Dr Herna de Wit on Evidence, IP and South Africa’s Role in the Future of Healthspan

Speaker B: 00:00:05

Welcome to Beyond Longevity, the podcast that explores not just how we age, but how we can build a longer, healthier future for ourselves. My guest today on beyond longevity is Dr. Herna de Wit

Dr. Herna holds a PhD in Biochemistry and brings together science, intellectual property, law, science, communication and commercial strategy. That combination is rare and it is important because longevity is full of products, protocols and promises.

Some are backed by serious science, some are early but genuinely exciting, and some are weak evidence.

Dressed up in very convincing language, Dr Herna helps companies, founders and investors to ask the question every serious player in this field should ask before anything reaches the market. Does the science actually hold up?

In an ideal world, every longevity company would put its product through that kind of scientific stress test before it reaches investors, clinics or consumers. In this episode, Dr. Hoerner walks us through what she calls a scientific sanity check. We talk about human data versus mouse or petri dish data.

We talk about why dosage and bioavailability matter. We talk about biological age clocks and why not all of them are created equal.

And we talk about what investors should ask before backing a longevity company. We also get into one of the most overlooked parts of the intellectual property in longevity. Impressive science is not always enough.

If a company cannot explain what is novel, what is defensible, and what can actually be protected, the business may be much weaker than it looks. And because Dr. Hannah is based in South Africa, this conversation also moves beyond the usual us, UK in European longevity debate.

We talk about South Africa's potential, its private medicine and wellness tourism market, and the harder question of whether longevity risks becoming another layer of privilege. This is a conversation about evidence, hype, trust, commercialization and the scientific integrity this field urgently needs.

Speaker C: 00:02:36

Dr Herna, thank you so much for joining me on Beyond Longevity today. Your route into longevity is a bit unusual because you come at it from several directions at once.

Biochemistry, law, science, communication and commercial strategy. How did those pieces come together?

Speaker A: 00:02:56

Well Daphna, thank you so much for having me on the podcast. My journey was actually born out of a bit of lab bench inpatience.

up finishing both degrees in: 2020

And then I went on to do a postdoc and I got after my postdoc I got a chance to work with a longevity startup and that was my first taste of truly Working remotely with people across the globe. And we dove into biohacking, employee wellbeing and also then app development.

And that is where I realized that the fast paced global world of startups was where I really belonged.

And I started networking like crazy on LinkedIn, which opened a lot of doors to collaborate with longevity clinics, supplement pioneers and also clinical trial companies all over the world. And today, with the massive leaps that we're seeing in AI and longevity research, I feel like we're sitting on a mountain of untapped potential.

Now, my mission is to bridge those worlds and help pioneers actually bring that potential to life.

Speaker C: 00:04:29

And what exactly does that mean for you?

Speaker A: 00:04:32

So for me it means looking at the high friction gap between the lab bench and the social feed. So I help longevity brands translate complex science, whether it's biochemistry, longevity, geoscience, into brand authority.

But there's a few stages that I follow to do that. One of the main things I do is I look at the scientific sanity check. And this is something that most companies lack.

So everything from vetting clinical data and managing high level content that most social managers can't even pronounce now, not throwing shade to social managers, they do a great job with what they're doing, but you need a scientist to take that, the science and make it more understandable.

But then where I also come in is I leverage my background in IP law, so intellectual property law, specifically to ensure that their scientific edge is protected. And this is very important in today's world.

So ultimately I'm here to make sure that in our race for longevity and living longer and healthier for longer, the brands with the best science are actually the ones that end up winning.

Speaker C: 00:06:02

I definitely want to come back to this whole topic of IP protection and longevity because I think it's a really important topic that I think is very often overlooked. But before we get to that, let me just ask you, when you ordered the science behind a product, what does that actually involve?

Speaker A: 00:06:22

What I can give you a few examples of is specific to supplements or protocols. A high level idea of the five point audit that we follow at my agency, Omniso. So the first thing is we always look at the idea of mice versus men.

The reality check, so we look at is the protocol that you are designing, is it based on human clinical trials or is it just in vitro? So that means is it based on petri dish data or even animal studies?

Because most compounds that we get extend the life of a yeast cell or a C. Elegant worm BY they say 20%, but they actually fail or are toxic in humans.

So if a brand goes and cites something as groundbreaking research without a human rct, like a randomized control trial, they are selling you a hypothesis and not a solution. I would like to come back to the hypothesis idea a bit later on. Okay, so that's the first point in the five point audit.

Then what we also do is we look at the bioavailability and the dosage audit. So you need to ask the question, does the dose in the bottle match the dose in the study?

And this is where brands usually use a little bit of fairy dust on their products because they'll put 5 milligrams of a compound into the capsule because it sounds good, the label. But the actual clinical study used 500 milligrams. And also you need to check the delivery. So is it liposomal and is it even stabilized?

Because high purity molecules are useless if your gut destroys them before they even reach your cells. So that's the second point in our five point audit. Then the third point is the metric integrity test.

This is especially important if you use biological age clocks or any type of clock in your protocols. You need to ask, is this biological age test actually validated? Because not all epigenetic clocks are equal.

You need to look for tests that use almost the gold standards for predicting health span. And there are a few.

But if a test only goes and measures a handful of markers, let's say just CPG sites, this is just a snapshot and it cannot be used as a strategy.

So you can't go and just chase a lower number on a biological age clock, especially if it uses a small handful of markers, then it's always better to rather chase a slower rate of aging on a validated clock.

And then the best thing is because you're chasing a rate of aging, we're not just selling a snapshot, you're selling a few data points along the way so you can ensure your customers actually come back. And then the fourth point, this is the regulatory safety shield. So you can ask, is this brass so literally generally recognized as safe?

And also then third party test, because they're just taking the supplement market in the U.S. now, the FDA is highly focused now on radical transparency. So the brands need to really look at what is their longevity molecules delivering, how is it delivering it?

But also does it contain any heavy metals or microplastics?

And if a brand hides behind a proprietary blend, because we see that a lot on supplements, they won't show you the lab results, you can actually walk away from that brand and Then just fifth point on our science audit is always the mechanism versus the marketing match. So you can ask, can the brand explain how it works without using any buzzwords?

So if the explanation is just it boosts energy or it's anti aging, that's just marketing.

But if they can start to explain to you the specific pathway that it is affecting, let's say the AMPK activation or NAD precursors, and then they start to show how their specific formulation protects that pathway, then you have found a brand with a legitimate scientific edge. So that is high level, the five points we always look at.

Speaker C: 00:11:17

It's absolutely fantastic the way you go through all this so rigorously, but unfortunately the vast majority of companies do not use your services. How can an investor that hasn't found you yet, what can they ask before backing a longevity product, you know, that claims to be science based?

And how should an investor judge whether a longevity company science is genuinely strong or just well packaged and hype and all that? I know you've mentioned already a few points, but what are the straight up red flags, let's say?

Speaker A: 00:11:56

Okay, so I think we need to start with any venture capital investor. They need to ask is it novel what is being sold or is it just being rebranded?

And even for founders, this determines the reality that you are building in. And the first BS detector that you can look at is look at the science to see if it's truly a breakthrough or just repackaging of existing data.

So in the longevity space we see a lot of rediscovery, taking an old molecule and giving it a new name, which is completely fine. But then again, there needs to be more transparency and ethical marketing around that.

So for VCs and investors specifically, they need to look at if it is a known substance.

So I keep on referring to substances today because the supplement market is such a big market and it's easy to give results on that, but it can be applied throughout the longevity space. So if it is a known substance like a specific peptide or a polyphenol or whatever else you need to look at, is there a proprietary edge to it?

So that means is there a unique delivery system to it, Is there a specific data backed protocol?

And after you've invested, or even before you've invested, can you protect the expression of the science, which is the copyright or even the identity of the solution, which is the trademark? And for VCs and investors, this due diligence is very important because they usually look at commodity versus monopoly.

So investors want to know, are we investing in a commodity that anyone can copy tomorrow, or is it a defensible asset? And that is something very important for founders and, and for science teams and R and D teams to also consider.

So I usually help VCs literally look under the hood of a science or longevity company to determine does the company's technology, proprietary technology, their protocol actually hold up to scientific scrutiny, or is the IP portfolio just literally a house of cards? And that we are seeing more and more in the longevity space.

And the reason this is very important for VCs and investors is it saves them a lot of time by flagging scientific red flags beforehand in a pitch deck before they even get to the legal due diligence phase. And some red flags.

Has the science team actually sat down and gone through the types of studies that they look at the mice versus the men audit point?

Do they use statistics that you can trace back to scientific literature, published scientific literature, or is it just scientific hallucination that you've got on one or another LLM model? Because there's more and more people using LLMs to draw up their investor pitch decks and their one pages. And you can pick it up rather.

Speaker C: 00:15:29

Quickly going to this topic of IP intellectual property. When people think of ip they often think about patents in general.

But in longevity, can protocols, frameworks, formulation, content a data model to be protected? What else can be protected? And are people often confused about what IP really means within the field of longevity?

Speaker A: 00:15:57

Innovation is incredibly expensive, but if you don't protect the science behind it, you're just basically doing charity work for your competitors.

So you need to figure out if you actually have a secret source that is novel or if you just putting a fancy label on water here it comes in with is it something novel again, is it something new or are you rebranding it? Because from there you can actually start looking at can we adapt what we have for protection? So it can be anything that you can adapt.

Now I'm saying adapt, but what I mean is not fake it. What I mean is base it on data.

So this is a bit of a pivot usually for any company to do because what you're doing is you're actually engineering predictability. So let's say a founder has a great product that is currently unpatentable, then I help them adapt the science.

Again, not fake, but data backed and in a manner that it becomes unique to them. So coming back to the supplement example, so we might start to look at synergistic effects.

Let's say ingredient A isn't new, but ingredient A plus B, in a specific ratio or specific mitochondrial outcome, that might be a unique protectable claim. I just want to mention here that I am not a patent attorney and I don't file the paperwork or deal with the registry office, thank goodness.

But you can see me like a scientific architect where I help you design the blueprint so that when you do go to a lawyer or an attorney, you aren't wasting $500 an hour explaining the biochemistry for them. You just can give it to them immediately.

gain, it is very important in: 2026

So if you don't have any of that, you're literally just something else on the shelf or on social media.

Speaker C: 00:18:43

The consumer is definitely becoming smarter on that front.

And just to clarify what you were saying before, that an individual molecule, peptide, whatever, can't be patented, but then if you put two together, it becomes a different formulation.

Just to put it in terms that I think most people these days will understand, you know, the GLPs on the markets, Ozempic, Manjaro, whatever there is in their own individual capacity, are not patentable. But because the companies have put two, three products together, that combination then becomes patentable and obviously makes them a lot of money.

Speaker A: 00:19:26

You are spot on with that. Yes. As soon as a patent lapses, then it's literally, it's a free for all.

Speaker C: 00:19:34

As we can see now. I think in India, yes, and I think in Canada also, the patent has lapsed for the GLP1s and yeah, the prices drop to, you know, by 90%.

Speaker A: 00:19:45

Or more, which is again a very good thing because then with the price dropping, you make it more accessible to a wider group of people. So there's definitely an ethical aspect to this.

When you are patenting something, are you doing it for economic gain or are you doing it completely for to help people live longer, live better lives? But that is a question that the founders need to answer.

Speaker C: 00:20:12

Where's the tension between open science and commercial protection?

Speaker A: 00:20:17

Oh gosh, this is a hard question.

Speaker C: 00:20:20

I know, it's a bit of an unfair question too, I understand that.

But just asking you on a personal level, I guess, because obviously you're not going to tell your clients, oh, you know, be holier than thou and make it all open science and sort of put it on the market for free because obviously a lot of money is involved in research and testing. So it is only fair that those companies do get remuneration for their work. But what's your thought on that?

Speaker A: 00:20:50

Look, I think there's a balance for everything.

And with the longevity market specifically expanding as quickly as it currently is, and all the research going into it and all the funding and investments, we are in a commercial boom currently. But we will get to the point where this becomes more accessible, more open.

But then again, if you are in an academic setting, it's not always that easy to make it open science, if you are in a commercial space, private space, it's easier to make it open and easier to be accessible. And then again with the apps, any apps, femtech apps, it's also easier to make it open to a wider audience.

Speaker C: 00:21:36

When you have a startup company or, you know, but further along, how difficult is it for them to evaluate what to publish up front and what to share? Where does a founder draw the line between being very open and honest about what they do and where to retain a little bit of personal IP protection?

Speaker A: 00:22:02

It's definitely something to look at for anyone that is building in health, tech or in longevity to look at putting something out like white papers as you are building.

Because then you have that record of I am running this internal trial or I'm testing out this compound or this supplement stack or, or this protocol and then you already building that internal data log as well that you can later share with investors. So it's a double positive on that, but also something like thought leadership. So yes, what does a founder actually share? They can share something.

We are testing a new blend of supplements, we are testing a new longevity protocol.

But but it does completely depend on what the internal team is doing, how quickly they can build it, and also what the investors actually want them to put out in the world. There's a lot of NDAs making the rounds. Some of them are not too great and can actually not hold up.

But we need to make sure that whatever we are putting out, it is validated in the sense of the signs. So an example here is again to the supplement companies and it applies to other fields of longevity as well.

So when you are saying that your product, your supplement, is clinically validated, are you meaning that your whole supplement is clinically validated or are you meaning that certain ingredients in it is clinically validated? Because we need to do that to work more on earning the trust in an ethical and respectable manner, not just saying what we think People want to hear.

And this is also very important for founders when they put something out there in the world on their socials or even in white papers. You need to be transparent about that. You need to say that we have five ingredients in our supplement.

Only three of them have been clinically validated. This one in mice, this one in C. Elegans and this one in humans. Because that is just a way to build trust.

And it's easy to build in public these days. And it's also easy to find that as you build in public, you have that track record, you already building on your copyright and your trademark.

Speaker C: 00:24:35

Do you think founders are underestimating the legal and strategic side because they're often so focused on the science?

Speaker A: 00:24:42

So, yes, founders are definitely underestimating the legal aspects of the companies that they are starting, especially when you start going and you look for funding and investors. So you need to continuously think about what am I trying to build, but what am I trying to protect as well.

So, for example, you can do an identity test. Any founder can do. The R and D team can do this.

This is where you look at, is this for example, a new dietary ingredient or is it known molecule with a new name?

And if it is a known molecule, let's say resveratrol, we can't patent that molecule itself like the GLP1s, but you can start to identify if your source, your purity level or your specific isomer even is unique enough to become a proprietary grade that we can then trademark and protect as a trade asset. That's just one of the things that founders need to look at.

There's also looking at synergy, looking at the vehicle, the delivery way, data sovereignty, which helps boost the evidence, and then very importantly, the human inventive step. Because yes, you can put something into AI and it can give you something, but are you having a human LED inventive step or steps in your process?

Because that is much easier to patent and to protect through IP than just something purely AI powered.

Speaker C: 00:26:28

Do most investors or VCs that you deal with, do they come from the science background? Or if they don't come from that background, how do you think they can really understand that field?

Speaker A: 00:26:47

Okay, so Most of the VCs that I work with, they come from a purely business background, purely entrepreneurial. They don't have any idea about the science.

They just know longevity is this shiny new sparkly thing that they can invest in and that will make them a ton of money. But the way to get them to understand, understand the field is to Think from a business perspective as well. What are you returning?

What is the problem statement? What is the outcome? What do you want to get the people, your customers to experience?

And then from that, when you explain it in that way, the business brain actually kicks in and they see the business potential of it. But here I just want to mention that founders usually think that IP is something that you do after you launch a product.

And I really want to argue that it's what you do before you even start designing a label or start designing a social media strategy.

So if we go through our internal checklist that we have and you find out that you're just rebranding a generic ingredient or a protocol that's already on the market, my job is then to help you pivot the signs again, not fake it.

So we try to find a way to make it novel, whether through a new delivery system or a unique strategy, so that when you go to the market or investors, you aren't just selling a product anymore. You're building an asset that the investors want to invest in because they see a potential of a good return.

Speaker C: 00:28:37

How many other businesses or structures or setups, whatever you want to call it, are there like yours?

Because I talk to a lot of researchers and people in that field who are developing things, and I talk to a lot of investors, and often there's a huge sort of gap between one and the other. The researchers don't know how to talk to the investors.

And the investors, like you said, they see the money behind it, but they do not know what to ask and what to look for.

So I'm always amazed when there is actually a synergy between sort of researchers and investors because of that big gap of knowledge and of understanding each other.

So how many of you are there around and how does one work this out if they are not using someone like you to sort of marry those two very different sectors?

Speaker A: 00:29:39

Okay, so I don't think there's many businesses like the setup that we have at Omnisci. And I really do pride myself in that because it's been the journey of trial and error and seeing what is the need in the market.

But then also, what do I want to do in the market and how do I want to make a difference, and who do I want to help on my mission? So the way that people can go to work around this is it's exactly the same way that I've set up Omnisci, which is my agency.

We first look at the scientific consulting and the strategy part. So what are you basing your claims on.

Because if you get the science behind it correct, you don't need to go and do 10 clinical trials or figure out a trial structure behind it. You can do it internally with 10 individuals that are willing to test your longevity protocol or whatever you are putting out in the world.

So this is like the scientific sanity check. That is the five points that I mentioned right at the start of the episode.

And the strategy will actually lay the ground for the IP and how you are going to protect what you are building and then if we sort out what we can protect, what we need to change so that you can protect it, what makes you new in the market, what makes what you are offering novel? Because we have hundreds of the same companies selling quite basically the same biological age protocol or gut health protocol.

How are you going to be different?

If you get that unique selling proposition and then you take that together with your strategy into a communication strategy, then you've built yourself a rather good starting point that you can effectively talk to any investors, VCs and more importantly, you can actually talk to the people that you are trying to sell to.

Speaker C: 00:31:51

Where do most of the companies that you work with come from? What countries?

Speaker A: 00:31:56

Well, it's across the globe, everywhere from Southeast Asia to Los Angeles and Seattle. So it is literally across the world.

And I've built my business in such a way that I am able to work with all these different companies and startups, but I don't work alone.

So if there's a specific, let's say a specific longevity protocol that if it requires a nutritionist specifically to look at what is going on in the data set, then I do have a list of highly qualified individuals that I usually get in for specific projects. So that is where the agency model comes in.

But I'm always the first person that the founders talk to before we even get someone else to look at any of their data or their research or their product.

Speaker C: 00:32:54

Where at the moment do you see the most interesting work research coming from what countries, what regions of the world?

Speaker A: 00:33:02

Well, I think Southeast Asia, specifically Singapore, they are leading the charge when it comes to anything longevity related. And it makes sense because, because their lifestyle just goes in parallel with longevity.

But then also countries like Switzerland is specifically leading the charge on skin longevity, or to me they are, because I know a few companies there that are doing amazing work. And then if we're looking at the US they are specifically for tech, anything tech related.

There's amazing startups that are building incredible products. So I'm excited to see the next few years where it goes, you're South African.

Speaker C: 00:33:48

So I would be remiss not to talk about South Africa. Very sort of global question to sort of start off with where do you see South Africa fit into the field of longevity?

Speaker A: 00:34:04

So right when I started my journey in longevity and longevity startups, I was convinced there's no longevity startups in South Africa and I was completely wrong.

So throughout the last two years I've seen a massive boom in what is happening, what people are building here and they are a few of them that are even of a higher standard than some of the international companies. So I'm very proud to say that yes, we, we are doing a good job here.

But I think overall in the global space, majority of these companies, we still need to learn a lot more, see more through trial and error what is actually working for the South African and the African market specifically, because what is working in Asia might not necessarily work here. Same goes for the us. So really happy with what is happening.

Speaker C: 00:35:03

In South Africa and again seeing that we're based in the uk, I would be remiss not to ask about the UK longevity market. Any exciting research product inventions coming from the uk?

Speaker A: 00:35:17

Well, there's a few femtech startups that I am very interested in and I've started speaking to the founders and also with investors that are looking to invest in more femtech and I think UK is ideally stationed for that. So yeah, looking forward to what you guys are building in femtech.

Speaker C: 00:35:47

So are we coming back to South Africa? As you mentioned, quite some evidence now that South Africa is being positioned as a wellness and medical tourism hub.

I think Durban hosted the 4th International Longevity Summit last year and market research put South Africa's medical tourism, I think around US$650 million last year. So definitely an emerging market.

Tell us a little bit more about longevity within South Africa and especially in that difficult field of those that can afford it and those that can't. Where do you see that?

Speaker A: 00:36:33

Well, this actually links back to your open science and commercial question.

So what we definitely see at the current stage is that the longevity protocols, longevity companies, peptides, anything related to longevity is currently still for the higher income ranges, which is the same for the global markets as well. But there's definitely a few things that we can learn from the lower income markets as well.

So they are looking at the basics, which is sleep, nutrition, exercise and community.

If we can focus on the basics for the low and middle income population getting proper nutrition right, they will be able to reduce the strain on the public health system.

Whereas for the higher income population, they obviously need to still focus on the basics, which is sleep, nutrition, exercise and community or emotional health. But they have more access to peptides and experimental supplements like NAD plus.

But if they still don't get that basics right, the strain on even the private health system is still high. So there's a clear strain between the open signs and the commercial property. And it's something that in South Africa we really do need to work on.

Speaker C: 00:38:09

South Africa's health care system is characterized, I think, by an overburdened public sector and the well resourced private sector. That makes a strong case for asking whether longevity can avoid becoming another layer of privilege. How do you see that?

Speaker A: 00:38:29

Well, I don't think it's becoming another layer of privilege. I think it is already. And yes, the public sector is overstrained.

There's too many people too new doctors who can keep up with the rate of which they need to see patients. And it's a very similar problem to what the NHS is experiencing, but just at a bigger scale because you'll be struggling with funding problems.

So where, if you struggle with a funding problem for basic care, are you even going to start looking at something like longevity for the bigger population?

Speaker C: 00:39:09

South Africa's population is aging, but I think it's from a very different baseline than Europe or the US.

outh Africa between the early: 2000

Or should it be a much harder question of extending healthy life in a population that's shaped by HIV inequality, metabolic disease and uneven access to healthcare?

Speaker A: 00:40:04

Yes, I think your second option is the correct one. You need to focus on health, overall health of the population. And that starts with something as simple, but also as hard as employment.

Because how are you even looking at becoming healthy when you don't have a job to provide for your family? That adds additional stress.

You're not getting the nutrition in that you're supposed to, you're not sleeping as you should, especially in some areas where the crime is extreme, extremely high.

And then again, we can even open up the conversation of women's health specifically related to gender based violence and how that impacts women's health. But yes, how we can look at extending health span, making people healthier for longer.

That is definitely the starting point would be to look at employment and Opening up the market to more people.

Speaker C: 00:41:12

Yeah, I think that's applicable sort of to everywhere, not just South Africa. South Africa has some obvious ingredients when it comes to longevity and wellness and medicine, excellent private medicine.

It's got the tourism, the landscape, the climate, lower relative cost, and as you said, it's really growing in the wellness sector overall. But what do you think is actually missing right now for South Africa to be a serious longevity destination? Is it marketing?

Is it a gap in regulation, the infrastructure, scientific credibility, investments, international trust? I don't know.

Speaker A: 00:42:05

Well, I think it's a combination of all of that and also it comes back to the socioeconomic landscape.

We do have a very high crime rate, unfortunately, and we do have a system that is not particularly keen on changing that at this point, even though there has been some strides recently. Marketing is not the issue. The scientific integrity is not the issue. I think what's happening in the world is everything goes through stages.

We've seen that Asia has become a longevity hotspot, we've seen that the south of Europe has become a longevity hotspot and also certain spots in the us.

So I think because of the affordability here in South Africa and Africa's larger part, and also the accessibility to the technology needed for a full longevity program, we are on the right track and we will get to a point where we can also be seen as a longevity art spot.

Speaker C: 00:43:12

Most listeners are familiar with the UK and the US regulatory process and all that. I'm sure not too many listeners know how it is in Africa as a whole. But, you know, specifically South Africa.

How are the regulatory compliances there? Are they very strict? Are they open to new inventions, new research? How is it there?

Speaker A: 00:43:37

Okay, so regulatory based, Definitely they are rather strict. But behind that I can get. I can completely support that. There are still coming back to supplements again.

Supplements on the market, supplements on some of the big pharmacy chains on their shelves that have not been validated or accredited by the Health Professionals Society in South Africa. And that opens up the space for a lot of fake supplements or placebo supplements, but that is just the supplement specifically on the medical side.

So if we're starting to look at clinics, medical longevity, that is a lot more regulated and more stringent.

So I do believe if we come here for science protocol, longevity science protocol, over a few weeks, your data will be protected, but also you will have doctors available to you at a lot lower of a cost than you would necessarily in the US or uk.

Speaker C: 00:44:42

And are there any exciting innovations coming out of South Africa that you can see on the horizon?

Speaker A: 00:44:50

Yes, there are a few specifically Cape Town. There's one company that I'm especially interested in now.

They are looking at whole body scans in a few seconds and developing a whole protocol from your nutrition, from your exercise, everything, your sleep around that full body scans. There's also a lot of biohacking hubs popping up across the country.

And then here in Johannesburg there's a very exciting startup that's working especially with Peptides and making that more accessible to a bigger group of people without having to be on medical insurance or Medicare medical aid.

Speaker C: 00:45:33

Do you think that South Africa is going to really become a strong voice within the longevity field or do you think not?

Speaker A: 00:45:44

I think we have the potential. There's definitely. There's a lot of scientists that are doing amazing work in the longevity space, in the health space at large.

We have a lot of very keen entrepreneurs and the only thing that we need at this stage is more international investment and more interest in South Africa because we do have the hidden potential. And also again, South Africans are very resilient. So if we set our mind to something, we will most probably get to build it.

Speaker C: 00:46:20

The work you do gives the much needed credibility to a field that is in danger of pseudoscience, hype and snake oil.

And while there are a lot of very, very good and valuable and truly scientific based players out there, in any field where there's financial gain to be made, there are a lot of players that discredit the field. As I said, the work you do I think is absolutely invaluable and essential to the emerging and exploding field of longevity.

How do researchers or indeed investors find you?

Speaker A: 00:47:07

Well, thank you so much, I really appreciate that. So the easiest way to find me is on LinkedIn. I'm Herna De Wit on LinkedIn and then from there please send me a DM, we can talk.

There's also a link on my profile where you can go to my link tree, see some of the portfolio items, specifically on the science communication part that I've worked on, not so much on the investor or the strategy part because of NDAs, but there you can also book a quick discovery call with me. So it's very easy just to go on my LinkedIn profile and find all the links that you need there.

Speaker C: 00:47:46

At what stage should a company come to you? Is it at the very, very beginning or stage A, Stage B of investment?

Speaker A: 00:47:55

It is completely across the board. I've had people come to me with just an idea for a protocol for a supplement.

Then we've built it out from ideation so where you get the physical product. But then also I've worked with companies that have gotten funding a few series in and they needed to find someone just to look at their strategy.

What is happening on the advisory part?

Is their team strong enough the communication between their R and D team and their marketing team to actually tell their story so that their target marketer understands it, but it's completely across the board.

Speaker C: 00:48:35

Fantastic. Now we're coming to the end of this wonderful conversation and we touched on so many really interesting and invaluable topics.

So I'm really grateful for the time you made to come on Beyond Longevity. And I always ask my guests five rapid fire questions. In the end, you're no exception.

So what's the single best piece of advice you would give your younger self?

Speaker A: 00:49:04

Don't ever stop networking and meeting new people.

Speaker C: 00:49:07

Name one habit everyone should adopt for a longer, healthier life.

Speaker A: 00:49:11

Sleep more.

Speaker C: 00:49:13

If you weren't in longevity science, what career would you have chosen?

Speaker A: 00:49:18

Oh my gosh, I think a writer. I would have loved to write books.

Speaker C: 00:49:24

What microdose habits 5 minute routine or small daily action yield outsized longevity benefits.

Speaker A: 00:49:32

Definitely not sitting for long periods of time. So I like the every 45 minutes to an hour I do a few squats and then my focus is a lot better when I get back to my desk.

Speaker C: 00:49:45

And what's the craziest longevity myth you've encountered and is there any truth to it?

Speaker A: 00:49:51

Oh gosh, there's a few.

Speaker C: 00:49:55

Pick the craziest one.

Speaker A: 00:49:57

You think. You think. Ah yes. There's a new trend on TikTok that says it is how to lose weight extremely quickly. And it is.

You need to drink only protein shakes for a few days to reduce inflammation in your body. It doesn't necessarily work like that. Depending on the ingredients of your protein shake, you won't decrease the inflammation.

And especially if you are a woman, you do something like this in a specific stage of your cycle will just ruin your hormones and also your inflammation and cortisol levels.

Speaker C: 00:50:34

That was I think the wisest answer anyone has ever given. Normally people come out with these crazy things. So. Yeah. But listen, that was so great. Thank you so much Dr. Hannah for coming on Beyond Longevity.

What a joy.

Speaker A: 00:50:50

Thank you so much for having me on. I really enjoyed this.

Speaker B: 00:50:55

What stayed with me from this conversation with Dr Herna de Wit is how clearly she shows what longevity needs if it wants to be taken seriously.

Not just more products, not just more investments, not just more excitement, but more rigor because the faster this market grows, the easier it becomes for weak evidence, vague claims and clever branding to look more clear convincing than they should. That is why Dr. Hoerner's work is so important.

With her PhD in biochemistry, her background in intellectual property law, and her work across science, communication and commercial strategy, she asked the questions every serious founder, investor, clinic and consumer should be asking. Is the evidence actually in humans? Does the dose in the product match the dose used in the study? Has the biological age test been properly validated?

And is the company being honest about what is proven and what is still only a hypothesis? We also talked about intellectual property, which is far more central to longevity than many people realize.

A company may have impressive size science, but if it cannot explain what is novel, what is defensible, and what can actually be protected, the business may be far weaker than it appears. And the South Africa part of the conversation added a perspective we do not hear enough of.

Longevity is not only about elite clinics, expensive supplements and biological optimization in many places.

The deeper question is how to extend healthy life in populations shaped by inequality, metabolic disease, uneven access to health care in very different social realities. So my takeaway is simple. Longevity needs ambition, but it also needs discipline.

The companies that deserve to lead this space should not simply be the loudest, the best packaged, or the best funded.

They should be the ones with the strongest evidence, the clearest communication, and the most responsible way of bringing that science into the real world. If you've enjoyed my conversation with Dr Herna De Wit, please rate, review and follow. Thank you.