SEOUL, South Korea, May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- GI Innovation, a South Korean biotech company, announced on May 13 that it has been selected as a semi-finalist in the XPRIZE Healthspan competition in collaboration with its sister company GI Biome.
The XPRIZE Healthspan semi-finals ceremony is taking place in New York from May 12 to 14, with the top 40 semi-finalist teams out of more than 600 registered teams among 58 countries invited. The company has not only advanced to the semi-finals but has also been selected as one of 8 teams among the 40 semi-finalists to earn an exclusive opportunity to present its vision and innovations to high-profile, institutional global investors.
XPRIZE, a U.S.-based nonprofit foundation, is the recognized global leader in designing and executing large-scale competitions to solve humanity's greatest challenges. For over 30 years, our unique model has democratized crowd-sourced innovation and scientifically scalable solutions that accelerate a more equitable and abundant future.
Semi-finalists are selected by an expert committee using rigorous guidelines and advancement into this elite group is seen as recognition of exceptional scientific vision and execution.
The XPRIZE Healthspan competition, in which the joint GI Innovation - GI Biome team is competing, aims to discover breakthrough treatments that can slow or prevent age-related degeneration. The competition offers a record-breaking total prize pool of approximately USD $101 million.
Selected as a semi-finalist team, GI Innovation will receive a prize of USD $250,000 to support the next clinical trial stage. Only the top 10 teams from the semi-finals round will advance to the grand finals.
'Anti-Aging' Strategy with Immune Booster GI-102 and Microbiome-Based GIB-7 Combination
The GI Innovation-GI Biome joint team proposed a combination therapy consisting of GI-102, an immune-boosting drug, and GIB-7, a microbiome-based synbiotic, as a novel anti-aging approach.
Clinical studies have shown that GI-102 potently activates CD8+ T cells and NK cells at high doses, allowing those immune cells to safely attack a range of tumor types including melanoma, kidney, lung and bladder cancers. However, at a low dose, it selectively expands and activates NK cells, which are critical for clearing senescent cells and cellular debris, playing a vital role in delaying aging and maintaining physiological functions. Based on this mechanism, GI Innovation is pursuing the use of low-dose GI-102 as an NK cell enhancer.
GIB-7 is a premium synbiotic developed using GI Biome's proprietary Microbiome+ Herbal Therapy platform. It combines three patented probiotic strains with herbal ingredients. Clinical trials in elderly volunteers at Seoul National University Hospital have already been completed. In an aging mouse model, GIB-7 elicited an increase in beneficial gut microbiota, improved regulation of circadian rhythm, and improved muscle strength.
"We entered this competition with the goal of winning, and it is a great honor to have passed the first gateway, highlighting the scientific innovation of both GI Innovation and GI Biome," said Dr. Myoung-Ho Jang, CEO and Founder of GI Innovation. "The upcoming clinical trial will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Katherine Samaras, a key opinion leader in anti-aging research at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Australia. Through this competition, we will do our utmost to realize our global vision of progressing from treatment to prevention."
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GI Innovation and GI Biome Advance to the Semi-finals of XPRIZE Healthspan with Anti-Aging Potential of GI-102 and GIB-7 Combination Therapy
