Montana's new law lets venture-backed board approve untested longevity therapies
Montana has created a privately run review board, led by biotech investor Niklas Anzinger, to authorize experimental treatments that have not been approved by the FDA.
Montana’s experimental-treatment law, championed by Republican senator Kenneth Bogner and the Alliance for Longevity Initiatives, establishes a privately administered board to approve drugs that have not cleared FDA safety or efficacy standards. The board, run by Infinita City Inc. and funded by venture capitalist Niklas Anzinger, approved its first protocol—a daily antihistamine combined with a Denver-based sound therapy for hearing loss—though no treatment center is yet licensed to deliver it.
The law broadens eligibility to patients without life-threatening illnesses, requiring informed consent, payment ability, and a provider’s recommendation. Industry figures such as Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, and longevity influencer Bryan Johnson have promoted similar deregulated hubs like Próspera in Honduras. While proponents claim the system could reduce costs and generate data on anti-aging drugs, ethicists like Arthur Caplan label it a risky gamble, citing potential conflicts of interest and the lack of FDA oversight. The program’s future hinges on whether the Trump administration’s FDA will enforce actions against participating companies.
Why it matters
It shows how a U.S. state is testing deregulated access to unproven medical treatments, raising safety and ethical questions.
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