Introducing the Hawaii Healthspan Corridor
Hawaii is launching a healthspan-driven growth engine. Today we’re introducing the Hawaii Healthspan Corridor—an initiative anchored by Lokahi Longevity in partnership with the Healthspan Action Coalition (HSAC) to accelerate research, clinical translation, and venture creation in the science of healthy aging.
A partnership to build the “Health State”
In a recent letter, Jack Lewin, MD—administrator of Hawaii’s State Health Planning and Development Agency and senior advisor to Governor Josh Green, MD on healthcare innovation—affirmed this effort as aligned with the governor’s vision of Hawaii as the “Health State,” noting the corridor can benefit residents and also “those who will visit and learn with us.” We are honored by Dr. Lewin’s endorsement and the Governor’s leadership.
Why Hawaii is the right place
Hawaii’s longevity research bench is deep. The Kuakini Honolulu Heart Program/Honolulu-Asia Aging Study began in 1965–1968 and has produced decades of NIH-funded discoveries in aging and health.
Researchers at the University of Hawaii and partners identified FOXO3 as a major human longevity gene and continue to publish widely on its role in healthy aging.
Hawaii teams have also explored small-molecule activation of FOXO3 (for example, astaxanthin analogs); the NIA’s Interventions Testing Program (ITP)—a rigorous, multi-site program for lifespan and healthspan testing in mice—has engaged with related preclinical work. (Note: these are preclinical/animal studies; human lifespan extension has not been established.)
What the corridor will do
Modeled on proven academic–industry cluster playbooks (think Stanford’s ecosystem adapted to Hawaii), the corridor will:
Support translational R&D that moves geroscience from lab to clinic—FOXO3 pathways and beyond.
Create an on-ramp for companies: shared clinical infrastructure, regulatory pathways, pilot sites, and introductions across payer/provider networks.
Build workforce and training to supply clinicians, data scientists, and biomanufacturing talent.
Convene policy and standards work alongside HSAC’s national policy agenda (including the THRIVE framework effort to pave a regulatory route for healthspan-promoting products).
An open invitation to build in Hawaii
We invite biotech and bioscience startups and mature companies to do business in Hawaii—to locate R&D programs, clinical pilots, and biomanufacturing here. Our aim is to activate economic development while advancing safe, effective healthspan interventions. If you’re a scientist or researcher, we want you here too: join a growing community that values rigorous methods, translational urgency, and the unique advantages of Hawaii’s setting and abundant resources.
How HSAC fits in
HSAC is partnering with Lokahi Longevity in broad coalition-building, policy, and national reach—mobilizing a cross-sector movement, growing a 15k+ subscriber community through the Healthspan Compass, and advancing federal policy proposals like THRIVE (Therapeutic Healthspan Research, Innovation, and Validation Enhancement Act) with the Kitalys Institute. Together, we’ll use that platform to attract companies, clinicians, and researchers to the corridor.
Our call to action
If your team is developing therapies, diagnostics, devices, or platforms that extend healthspan, let’s talk about pilots, partnerships, and presence in Hawaii. We’ll help you plug into research collaborators, clinical sites, and state partners—and contribute to building the Health State vision in a way that benefits people here and worldwide.
