Longevity supplements have gained traction in the post-COVID era, with the rise of nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) a classic example.
However, the scientific framework for evaluating the efficacy of these products is still in its early stages, said Dr. Raymond Chua, CEO of HSA.
He outlined challenges seen in the longevity supplement space and ways to address them during a geromedicine and healthy longevity conference organized by the Academy for Healthy Longevity, part of the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine on the first day (Feb. 26) of the event.
A challenge unique to the longevity supplement space is the lack of “universally agreed aging biomarkers,” Dr. Chua noted.
Conventional randomized controlled trials may also be inadequate, as their typical study durations are often too short to assess supplements aimed at longevity outcomes, which require much longer timeframes to evaluate effectively.
“These unique complexities will challenge our conventional regulatory approaches—we do not yet have a set of ‘universally agreed’ aging biomarkers that will reliably predict long-term functional outcomes," Dr. Chua said. “For example, if a biomarker improves, does frailty decline. The time horizon of aging science also challenges conventional clinical validation timelines.”
In response to these complexities, he has called for collaboration with industry and academia to explore new regulatory approaches.
“As regulators, we may understand the science, but a lot of the science comes from the industry and from the work of the academicians working together with the industry to collect evidence,” he said. “We need to work together to develop shared standards of evidence, validated biomarkers, appropriate clinical endpoints, reproducible data and this requires cooperation.”
Regulatory review to ensure responsible advancements
The HSA is also reviewing the regulations for health supplements, which Dr. Chua said would be finalized by mid-2028.
One of the goals is to ensure that the rapidly growing longevity sector advances responsibly and ethically.
“This regulatory modernization is particularly timely, as it will better support the development of longevity health products while ensuring the robust consumer protection and clear regulatory pathways for emerging health products,” he said.
The regulator is already seeing a growing longevity health supplements and services market in Singapore.
One example is the rise of licensed healthcare service providers offering longevity-related services, tests and prescribing supplements. In this case, Dr. Chua said it was necessary to build the required governance framework for licensees and medical professionals who provide such services safely and ethically.
At the same time, the clinical evidence supporting longevity products on the market may not be sufficiently robust, prompting the regulator to call for the introduction “necessary guardrails” to better protect consumers.
“As the proliferation of products entering the market comes with varying levels of clinical evidence—including health supplements, digital applications, diagnostics and repurposed drugs—this sometimes creates consumer confusion between well-researched interventions and those with limited evidence or unsubstantiated claims...” he said. “To progress on these different innovations, we need to have in place the necessary guardrails to ensure responsible advancements of these products.”
As science and regulation evolve, he also emphasize the importance of comprehensive consumer education to strengthen scientific literacy.
“We need to reiterate and reinforce that longevity is not just built on shortcuts for miracle cures,” Dr. Chua said. “True longevity must be built on fundamentals, movement, nutrition, prevention and connection, where innovation is supported by evidence.”
