Harvard scientist behind Justin Bieber’s NAD therapy resigns, leaving China’s booming anti-ageing industry in hot water

David Sinclair, a Harvard scientist behind anti-ageing therapy NAD, has resigned as president of a prestigious academy amid controversy

While the anti-ageing industry booms, many in the science community are sceptical of the research by Sinclair and others

Reading Time:6 minutes

Published: 6:00am, 26 May 2024Updated: 6:08am, 26 May 2024

In an episode of The Kardashians, back in 2022, models Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber had a day out to partake in an anti-ageing therapy known as NAD.

While hooked up to the intravenous drip, Bieber told Jenner: “I’m going to NAD for the rest of my life and I’m never going to age.”

In celebrity circles over the last few years, the treatment has become all the rage. After that 2022 episode, Hailey got her husband, singer Justin Bieber, onto it. And it is not just the young who are keen to stop ageing – Li Ka-shing, one of Hong Kong’s best-known tycoons, who is in his nineties, has been using a similar product since 2017.

Back in April that year, Li’s private venture capital firm Horizons Ventures ploughed US$25 million into Nasdaq-listed ChromaDex. According to Frank Jaksch, co-founder and chairman of ChromaDex, Li has been taking Tru Niagen, a “healthy ageing supplement” pill produced by the company.

But NAD therapy is no longer exclusive to the rich and famous. China has become the world’s largest producer of the supplement, and thanks to large-scale production and subsequent price reductions, it is now being embraced by the masses.

However, that could all soon be derailed after a leading scientist behind the drug resigned his position as president of a prestigious scientific academy last month amid a storm of criticism of the treatment, with serious doubts cast over its efficacy.

David Sinclair – a star professor in the department of genetics at Harvard Medical School – is best known for his work in understanding longevity.

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