&gt;  just develop enough theory and experiments to convince investors to drop a billion on them for going through everything that&#x27;s needed for human testing.<p>Not even close. The Stowers Institute for Medical Research [0] is a good comparison for how to do it right--$2 billion donated over a decade gets you in the door of creating a sustainable entity, facility and environment that has a chance of attracting the kind of top scientists (and their staffs) to do the type of basic research you describe.<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Stowers_Institute_for_Medical_Research" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Stowers_Institute_for_Medical_...</a>