FDA Approves Trials for First Longevity Drug

A San Francisco start-up, Loyal, has just announced they’ve cleared a hurdle in (the long process of) bringing a drug to market. They have shown that their anti-aging drug, LOY-001, appears to hold promise in helping dogs live longer, healthier lives. Their study included 451 large-breed dogs and showed that aging parameters improved. Why the focus on large breeds? Because they live significantly shorter lives than small dogs. Their injectable drug (with a pill form coming) helps reduce the levels of IGF-1, a hormone related to cell growth. So, can veterinarians start prescribing Loy-001? Not quite yet: Loyal still needs to complete safety and manufacturing requirements before they achieve conditional approval by the FDA. Once that happens, they will have five years to show the FDA in the real world that the drug is efficacious, safe, and manufactured to quality standards.