For StartUp Health community member Guillaume Blivet, MPH, Chief Innovation Officer & Co-founder of REGEnLIFE, the problem is personal to anyone who has watched a loved one lose their memory. As he puts it, people living with brain conditions still have "very few options."
Based in France, Guillaume has a background in public health and built a career as a serial medtech executive, working with healthcare institutions and several medical technology companies. At a dermatology conference he first heard physicians describe the healing effects of photobiomodulation (PBM), which uses specific wavelengths of red and near-infrared light to act on the mitochondria and calm inflammation. That led him to a bigger question: could the same approach help the brain? He co-founded REGEnLIFE to find out. His philosophy is to strengthen brain cells rather than attack the disease directly. "We're aiming to strengthen the cells so the brain can fight back," he has said.
REGEnLIFE has built a modular helmet with optical guides that carry light past hair and bone toward the brain, paired with an abdominal component that treats the gut at the same time. The pairing reflects what Guillaume describes as "more and more evidence" that the gut-brain axis plays a role in neurological conditions. In the company's mouse studies, treating both together outperformed treating either alone. REGEnLIFE reported that short-term memory, long-term memory, and Alzheimer's biomarkers normalized, and that inflammation biomarkers improved. That work is now moving into the clinic.
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A pilot clinical trial of REGEnLIFE's RGn550 device was recently published in Frontiers in Neurology. According to the company, a pivotal trial in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's is underway in French hospitals, with 20-minute sessions several times a week over six months. Guillaume has said the trial started in three hospitals, with three more being added. REGEnLIFE is also building the infrastructure to answer these questions rigorously. Earlier this year, the company partnered with the University Hospital of Lyon to open a new Alzheimer's investigator center. If the therapy earns market approval, Guillaume says the team plans to make it available "not only at the hospital but also at home."
Guillaume credits the community around him for helping build that momentum. "Being part of the Alzheimer's Moonshot Community has been invaluable, providing expert advice and connecting us with passionate partners," he shared. "We believe together we can transform Alzheimer's care." His work reflects what the Alzheimer's Health Moonshot is built on: rigorous science, open collaboration, and a shared belief that better options for patients and families are within reach. If his mission resonates with you, join the StartUp Health community to explore collaborations, power your mission, and let us help share your story, too.
