Minicircle, a pioneering plasmid gene therapy company devoted to leading the future of public health, today announced its selection as one of the Top 10 Finalists in the global XPRIZE Healthspan competition. The seven‑year, $101 million challenge is the largest incentive prize ever launched in the field of aging, designed to catalyze breakthroughs that restore muscle, cognitive, and immune function in adults aged 50–80, delivering measurable rejuvenation equivalent to turning back the clock 10 to 20 years.

1400 teams from across 58 countries enlisted in the competition. 600 entries were ultimately reviewed and 40 received $250,000 to support early proof‑of‑concept work. Minicircle’s designation as one of the last top 10 finalists places it among the world’s most promising rejuvenation technologies and marks a major step toward demonstrating functional age reversal in human clinical trials.

Minicircle’s momentum has been fueled by the support of visionary investors, including Peter Thiel, whose long‑standing commitment to longevity science has helped accelerate global interest in extending human healthspan. Their backing reflects deep confidence in Minicircle’s therapeutic architecture and its potential to redefine how society approaches aging.

“Being named a finalist in XPRIZE Healthspan is a powerful validation of our mission and our technology,” said Minicircle founder and CEO Mac Davis. “Minicircle’s platform is designed to safely and precisely modulate multiple aging pathways at once. This recognition underscores the transformative potential of programmable gene therapy to enhance vitality and extend the healthy years of life.”

Minicircle’s therapeutic strategy leverages non‑viral circular DNA vectors, enabling modular, redoseable and multi‑gene interventions without the risks associated with viral delivery. This architecture allows Minicircle to target the interconnected biological drivers of aging, including muscle decline, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and immune dysregulation, within a single programmable system.

As a finalist, Minicircle will receive a $1 million cash prize to support the largest ever placebo-controlled interventional human clinical trial, exploring the effects of aging. The work includes an unprecedented longitudinal study on a scalable combination gene therapy’s effects on aging and healthspan.

The prize bolsters Minicircle’s mission to design and provide the most scalable, safe, efficient, and effective combination life-extension and consciousness enhancement gene therapy product to the world.

The XPRIZE Healthspan Grand Prize winners will be announced in 2030 at the conclusion of clinical trials.

Link: XPRIZE 2026 Innovation Landscape Report: XPRIZE Healthspan

About Minicircle

Founded in 2019, Minicircle is pioneering the future of public health by providing scalable plasmid gene therapies to the world. By commercializing plasmid therapeutics for human genetic enhancement, Minicircle unlocks the biological potential for longer, healthier lives for all.

About XPRIZE

XPRIZE 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. Donate, learn more, and co-architect a world of abundance with us at XPRIZE.org.

About XPRIZE Healthspan

Increasing human life expectancy is one of the greatest breakthroughs in modern history. We have more than doubled the global average in the last 100 years, but the length of our healthy lives has not increased at the same rate.

XPRIZE Healthspan is a 7-year, $101 million global competition to revolutionize the way we approach human aging. Competing teams will develop and test therapeutics that restore muscle, cognition, and immune function by a minimum of 10 years with a goal of 20 years.

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