Special Cannes Edition: The Agenda is Live
#91 Weekly Longevity Medicine Intelligence
Hey Doc,
It’s 4:10 in the morning in New York City. The apartment is quiet. It’s still dark outside, but my mind is already in Cannes: sun on La Croisette, coffee and a croissant (yes!), friends I haven’t met yet.
I’m a few days late on this newsletter. I always tell my team: if you wait until you’re ready and perfect, you’re too late. But I needed the time. Because building the experience in Cannes isn’t about filling an agenda. I wanted to think of this summit like a book. Who are the characters? What are the stories? What will you feel, and what will change when you go home?
Every person on this stage was curated because they are shaping the future of longevity medicine. Every moment is designed to mean something, one after the other. We’re creating an experience for physicians at every stage of the journey: learning, building, scaling, leading.
We’re not just hosting another conference. We’re building the home of longevity medicine.
Once Upon a Time
In 1959, my father landed in Cannes. He became a physician and participated in the creation of the first university diploma in acupuncture at the University of Montpellier.
Two years ago, the city of Cannes called me and asked if I would organize a longevity summit. The circle closed. Same city. Different generation. Same idea: medicine evolves when doctors decide to lead it.
Cannes is already home to some of the world’s most iconic cultural gatherings: the Film Festival for cinema, Cannes Lions for creativity. Longevity medicine is becoming a cultural moment. It needed a home.
And if you’ve ever walked La Croisette in the morning -the Mediterranean air, the markets, the pace of life- you’d swear Cannes looks like a blue zone. There is something poetic about gathering the world’s longevity physicians in a city that already lives like one.
Longevity medicine is at an inflection point. Patients are driving demand. Physicians are stepping into new roles as clinicians, investors, and founders. Companies are scaling the science. Governments are starting to fund it. What’s missing is the standard: the protocols, the credential, the community that turn longevity from a trend into a discipline.
Cannes 2026 is where we set that standard: with evidence, with ethics, and with equity.
If you already know you need to be in the room.
Prologue
Landing In Cannes - June 9
The White Party - Majestic Beach
The story begins Tuesday evening on the deck of the Majestic Hotel Beach. Mediterranean sunset. White‑evening dress code. Mocktails, music, and hundreds of physicians meeting face to face. Powered by Noom.
Speaker & VIP Dinner - Palm Beach
Most events hide the speakers at a back‑room dinner. We’re opening the table. For the first time, select VIPs join the faculty the night before the summit. We have 60 seats at the table. One Place. Every speaker. If you want real conversations, this is where they happen.
Part I
Set The Standard - June 10
LongevityDocs Run Club – La Croisette
The day starts the way longevity physicians should start every day: moving. We inaugurate the LongevityDocs Run Club with a 30‑minute Zone 2 run along La Croisette. Every few minutes, you rotate conversation partners. By the time you reach the pier, you’ve already met your first circle. Led by Paul Alexandrov, MD, and Vikas Mehta, MD. Powered by Eli Health.
Red Carpet – Palais des Festivals
The same red carpet where movie stars stand. Today it belongs to doctors. Every guest gets their moment, the quiet reminder that longevity medicine deserves the main stage.
Terrasse French Breakfast – Vibrant Lounge
Croissant, coffee, and conversations after the run. The formal program hasn’t started yet, but the community already has.
Welcome Back to Medicine.
Thomas de Pariente, Deputy Mayor of Cannes, opens the summit—because longevity medicine belongs in the same city where industries come to set their agenda.
I will kick of with the question how to scale physician‑led longevity care with evidence, ethics, and equity. This is why we’re here.
Targeting Aging
Where science is and where medicine should be.
Nir Barzilai, MD, President of The Academy of Geroscience. A legend in our field who has spent decades studying centenarians and leads the Targeting Aging with Metformin (TAME) trial, the first FDA-approved clinical trial targeting aging itself. He has done more than anyone to put geroscience and longevity medicine on the map with strong evidence. You will learn:
The current state of senolytics and aging biomarker science.
What N‑of‑1 research means for personalized longevity interventions.
How aging biomarkers are changing the way we measure outcomes and talk to patients and payers.
The Longevity States
Why ARPA-H is investing to extend healthspan.
Rafid Fadul, MD, Chief Medical Officer of ARPA-H, joins me for a conversation about how the U.S. government is funding the technology, medicine, and care models that make longevity a national priority. You’ll learn:
How ARPA‑H works and which programs touch longevity care today.
Where government money is flowing, and how to join studies or apply for funding.
How to position your clinic or system ahead of the policy curve.
The AI‑Augmented Physician
Using AI to deliver personalized care and better outcomes at scale.
Two of the most influential voices at the intersection of AI and clinical medicine, on one stage. Ami Bhatt, MD (Harvard, Mass General, ACC, FDA Digital Health Advisory Chair) and Zahi Fayad, PhD (Mount Sinai, Healthspan Initiative, Digital Twin) discuss what it actually means to deliver AI‑assisted care. You’ll learn:
How AI is already changing diagnostics, risk prediction, and treatment planning in longevity programs.
How regulations are evolving—and what “safe implementation” looks like today.
How to think about data volume, liability, and clinical responsibility as AI scales.
The GLP-1/Peptides Tsunami.
Are all peptides created equal?
Geoff Cook (CEO, Noom), Steven Murphy, MD, and Jeffrey Egler, MD (CMO, Noom), unpack the most exciting and most dangerous frontier in longevity practice. You’ll learn:
The latest research on GLP‑1s and peptide‑based protocols.
Why Noom acquired a 503A pharmacy, and what it signals.
How FDA reclassification is reshaping risk, and how to design a compliant, evidence‑based peptide strategy.
Build Your Longevity Practice
Digital vs. brick-and-mortar?
Ali Watson (LifeSpan MD, 20+ locations and nationwide telemedicine), Mohit Joshipura, MD (CMO, OpenLoop), Melissa Loseke, DO (Re‑New Institute), and Abbi Levy (Primetime Partners) sit together to answer the question every longevity physician is asking. You’ll learn:
How to build and scale a brick‑and‑mortar clinic.
What it takes to build a fully digital clinic licensed in all 50 states.
How to raise or deploy capital in the longevity economy, and how to prepare your practice for exit.
Leadership On the Beach – Majestic Lunch
We walk to the Majestic Beach for a three‑course Mediterranean meal on the sand. Sunlight, healthy food, and intentional networking. Every table is a roundtable; every guest has a voice. This is where board seats, advisory roles, and investment conversations quietly begin. You don’t want to miss this table.
From Lab to Shelf
Inside Lancôme's journey from longevity science to global launch
I will sit down with Vania Lacascade, PharmD, Global Brand President of Lancôme and former Chief Innovation Officer of L’Oréal, to explore what happens when a Fortune 500 beauty group deploys 4,000 scientists toward longevity. You’ll learn:
How to move from diagnostic to technology to product at global scale.
How Lancôme builds partnerships (NVIDIA, Timeline, and more) and runs innovation.
A framework physicians can adapt for building their own evidence‑based brands and services.
Longevity Founders Mode
Behind the practice: the wins, the scars, the lessons
Jonathann Kuo, MD, Founder and CMO of Extension Health (65‑person team). Amanda Khan, MD, who went from zero patients to a six‑month waitlist. Jila Meyer, MD, CLD, building the EmpowHer longevity community. Ken Winnard, MD, opening a 6,500‑sq‑ft OneLife Health & Performance center. You’ll learn:
How to avoid the classic traps in year one.
How to navigate institutional resistance and competitive markets.
How to leverage community to speed up learning and de‑risk big bets.
Confessions of a Longevity Doctor
After 20 years: what works, what's missing
Elizabeth Yurth, MD (Boulder Longevity Institute) sits down with Cynthia Keller, MD CLD faculty, for an honest conversation about two decades on the frontier. You’ll learn:
Which therapies (from supplements to stem cells) have stood the test of time.
What remains unproven or oversold.
The foundations that consistently move the needle in real patients.
Part II
Celebration Night
The Industry’s Big Moment. Trade the scrubs for the gown and tuxedo. The black‑tie gala at the iconic Carlton Hotel is the most exclusive night in longevity medicine: one red carpet, one room, one community.
Garden Reception – Carlton Hotel
In the tropical gardens, powered by Hims & Hers. First drinks, first photos, the first time the CLD cohort, Faculty, and Awardees are in the same space.
Certified Longevity Docs Graduation – Class of 2026
We celebrate the world’s first cohort of physicians to complete 100 hours of evidence‑based longevity medicine training and earn the CLD certification. This becomes a credential the field will remember.
Longevity Docs Awards – Grand Salon
Five awards, one message: we recognize the people setting the standard.
Longevity Doctor of the Year
Science of the Year
Innovation Award
Community Award
Legacy Award
Part III
Build the System - June 11
Bioharmony on the Beach.
Breath, movement, and a community reset to start the day.
Tamsin Lewis, MD, physician and Ironman athlete, leads a sunrise session of playful movement, breathwork, and meditation on the beach. A nervous‑system reset that aligns with what we preach: circadian rhythm, recovery, and community. Powered by Eli Health.
Terrasse French Breakfast at Vibrant Lounge, Palais of Festival
The Chief Longevity Officer Steps In.
Why longevity belongs in the C-suite.
Dawn Mussallem, DO (CMO, Fountain Life, ex‑Mayo), and Jessica Shepherd, MD (CMO, Hers, Hims & Hers), moderated by Saad Alam (CEO, Hone Health), map out a role that barely exists, and is about to be everywhere. You’ll learn:
What a Chief Longevity Officer actually does, from clinical strategy to research to culture.
Where the role sits in the org chart, how it’s funded, and how impact is measured.
How to position yourself (or your physician leaders) to be first in line.
Longevity Hospital of the Future.
How Mayo Clinic, Mount Sinai, and Sheba Medical Center are building it.
Sara L. Bonnes, MD (Mayo Clinic), Evelyne Bischof, MD, PhD (Sheba Medical Center), Zahi Fayad, PhD (Mount Sinai) moderated by Elisabeth Roider, MD (Nescens). You’ll learn:
How three leading systems are designing longevity programs inside legacy institutions.
What offerings, technology, and therapies they include and what they cut.
Payment models, education, and leadership structures that make it sustainable.
Ambient Longevity.
What the Samsung, the world’s most integrated health‑tech conglomerate, sees that most doctors don’t.
I sit down with Hon Pak, MD, Senior VP and Head of Digital Health at Samsung Electronics. Samsung builds medications, biologics, imaging, and runs its own medical center. Now it is building a full longevity ecosystem .You’ll learn:
Samsung’s vision for a full longevity ecosystem across wearables, home, app, and AI.
The sensors and biomarkers coming to your patients’ wrists and homes.
How to build the foundations of “ambient care” inside your own practice or system.
The Longevity Clinic Standard.
The protocols and modalities every clinic should offer.
Darshan Shah, MD (Next Health) building toward 150 locations by 2027. You’ll learn:
Testing protocols, technology stack, modalities, and EMR design that underpin a scalable clinic.
The business model, SOPs, and brand architecture that attract and retain high‑trust patients.
Women's Longevity 360.
The complete protocol for half of thew world.
Elizabeth Poynor, MD, PhD (Atria), Saranya Wyles, MD, PhD (Mayo Clinic), and Giovanni Campanile, MD (CorAeon), moderated by Jessica Shepherd, MD (hers).
You’ll learn:
How to design an integrated women’s longevity program across hormones, cardiovascular health, and skin.
Protocols that are working at leading centers, and how to adapt them in your own clinic.
Pitch on the Beach – Majestic Lunch
Your idea deserves a table.
We return to the Majestic Beach but this time, each table has a mission. During lunch, every table pitches an idea: a concept, a venture, a collaboration. By dessert, the room knows what you’re building and who can support.
Beyond the Scale.
The Noom story: scaling longevity to millions.
I sit down with Saeju Jeong, Co-founder and Chairman of Noom, who raised more than half a billion dollars and is now steering the platform into longevity care.
You’ll learn:
How Noom evolved from weight loss to longevity and what that means for physicians.
How to think about reaching and retaining patients at true scale.
How to lead in difficult times.
Know Your Numbers.
The economics of building a profitable longevity clinic.
Felix Olale, MD, PhD (Senior Advisor at TPG) and Jijoe Joseph, MD, DO, MBA, (Aesura Health) who just left the ER workshop the real numbers behind a longevity clinic.
You’ll learn:
How to model revenue, margins, staffing, overhead, and time to profitability.
The financial levers that matter most and the one mistake that kills many clinics in year one.
A simple model you can take home and apply the week you get back.
Doctors in the Followers Era.
Build a brand, educate patients, influence culture.
Darhsan Shah, MD, Tania Elliott, MD, Thomas Paloschi, MD, and Guénolé Addor, MD, debate what it means to be a physician in a world that rewards attention.
You’ll learn:
How to grow an audience and build authority without sacrificing credibility.
How to design social content that educates rather than entertains.
How to differentiate your personal brand from your clinic brand.
Rooftop Party – Villa La Malmaison
Overlooking the Mediterranean, with a DJ and the entire community in one place. The summit closes the way it started: with the people who will carry this work forward.
Epilogue
Now Back to Medicine
The Standard Has Been Set.
It was never meant to be a conference.
Three days in Cannes. Two days of summit. One gala. Forty speakers. Hundreds of physicians from around the world. And one question that will run through every session, every fireside, every conversation on the beach: how do we democratize longevity medicine?
We are uniting:
The legend who has spent decades proving that aging is a treatable condition.
The U.S. government agency investing a billion dollars to make healthspan a national priority.
The largest tech conglomerate building a longevity ecosystem from the wrist to the home.
The number one beauty group in the world turning longevity science into global products.
Physicians from the leading hospitals in the world, Mayo Clinic, Mount Sinai, Sheba Medical Center, Harvard, and NYU.
The leading medical society in cardiology.
Founders who left the ER, who went from zero patients to six-month waitlists, who opened 70 franchise units, who raised half a billion dollars.
We are bringing them here so you can take what they know and build.
The Certified Longevitydocs who will graduate on that stage in Cannes will be the first of their kind. The five physicians who will receive the Longevity Docs Awards will be recognized by their peers for shaping this entire field. The physicians who will sit at those tables on the beach will be connected for life. The ideas pitched over lunch could become companies.
We are building a movement to inspire the next generation of physicians who are committed to science, evidence, and outcomes. To do the work, build the practice, set the standard, and prove that evidence-based care can scale and impact lives globally.
That is what Back to Medicine means.
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