Epstein-Linked Longevity Guru Peter Attia Leaves David Protein, His Own Startup ‘Will Not Comment’

The founder of David Protein, maker of popular high-protein nutrition bars, announced on X Monday that longevity guru Dr. Peter Attia “has stepped down from his role as Chief Science Officer at David.”

The announcement comes after Attia’s name appeared in more than 1,700 documents, including email correspondence, released Friday as part of a massive file dump related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to The New York Times. Attia served in the leadership of the food startup and was also an early investor.

For those who don’t know, Attia is a Canadian American doctor who has become one of the most prominent voices in the field of longevity and preventive health. He is best known for his bestselling book “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity” and his now seven-year-old podcast where he explores optimization strategies. He was also hired last month as a contributor to CBS.

Three-year-old New York-based David Protein raised a $75 million Series A funding round last May led by Greenoaks, with participation from Valor Equity Partners. The company has seen significant growth since launching its flagship protein bar in September 2024, a product it describes as having 28 grams of protein, zero sugar and 150 calories.

In a lengthy post on X, Attia wrote that he was “ashamed” of some of the crude content of his emails with Epstein, but he also said he was not involved in criminal activity and never visited Epstein’s island or traveled on his plane. Attia also discussed at length how he came to know Epstein and why he remained involved with him even after Epstein’s conviction in 2008.

The fallout seems to extend beyond David Protein. It also appears that Biograph, the health-testing and longevity startup that Attia co-founded with entrepreneur John Hering, may be distancing itself from the doctor. The company declined to comment on Attia’s ongoing involvement with the startup or about the pages on its website that used to mention him but now omit his name or return a “file not found” error.

Biograph came out of stealth a year ago, TechCrunch previously reported, with backing from investors that include Vy Capital, Human Capital, Alpha Wave and WndrCo, along with angel investors including Balaji Srinivasan. As a growing number of concierge medical services companies, Biograph offers premium preventive health services to subscribers paying between $7,500 and $15,000 a year. Attia was previously named on the company’s press release and website as a co-founder.