There's an anti-aging drug for dogs now

Publish date: 2024-05-06

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Getting up there in age can be ruff — but these new tricks might keep old dogs alive a little longer. 

Man’s best friend may be the next anti-aging influencer as a first-of-its-kind longevity drug — injections intended to extend the lifespan of the large breed, four-legged fur balls — is poised for mass unleashing. 

Paws for applause!

Loyal, a San Francisco-based biotech company, announced Tuesday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted its jabs, known as LOY-001, a conditional approval. 

The provisional green light from federal regulators means officials have determined that the drug presents a reasonable expectation of effectiveness in augmenting a pup’s life expectancy. However, a series of complex studies are required to complete the collection of definitive efficacy data and to meet the FDA’s manufacturing and safety criteria. 

Loyal, a biotech company pioneering longevity drugs for dog, hopes to introduce injections that are expected to add years to an aging dog’s life. NY Post photo composite

But the small win has hopeful hound-lovers howling for joy. 

“This milestone is the result of years of careful work by the team,” said Loyal CEO Celine Halioua in the announcement. “We’ll continue to work just as diligently to bring this and our other longevity programs through to FDA approval.”

Halioua, 29, who launched Loyal in January 2020 after dropping out of a doctorate program at Oxford University to work in longevity research, tells The Post that it’s unknown how many years the LOY-001 will add to a large dog’s life. However, the animal aficionado says its benefits are expected to slow down the clock of a pup in its prime.

“We don’t know an actual quantitative extension number [that the drug will tack onto a lifespan],” said Hailoua, who admitted that the long term outcomes of dogs on the drug has yet to be tested. “The shots are expected to help bigger dogs have a higher quality of life for a longer time by reducing incidents of age-related diseases.”

And it’s a woof-worthy mission.

Halioua suggests that longevity drugs can help extend the health and lifespans of canines as well as humans. X/@loyalfordogs

“For large dogs to be as big as they are, the things that help a dog grow really fast during puppyhood and puberty don’t fully turn off after the dog is fully grown,” Hailoua explained, noting that bigger breed such as Great Danes and Bernese Mountain Dogs may only live between six to nine years while smaller canines like Chihuahuas and Miniature Poodles could live for up to 20 years.

“Bigger dogs are aging faster and dying sooner.”

But once granted the official green light by the FDA, dogs over age 7 and weighing more than 40 pounds may be eligible for the LOY-001 shots, which are expected to be administered by their veterinarians every three to six months. 

Loyal, which hopes to roll out the drug in 2026, believes its pharmaceutical will even the odds in favor of huskier hounds.

Loyal researchers hope that upon FDA approval, its anti-aging injectables will increase the life expectancy in large- and giant-breed dogs. X/Celine Halioua

“Selectively breeding dogs for size is understood to cause elevated levels of the growth-promoting hormone IGF-1, and this is believed to reduce their lifespan,” the company explained in its statement. “Large dogs have up to 28 times the levels of IGF-1 as small dogs.”

“LOY-001 works by reducing IGF-1 in adult dogs to increase lifespan.” 

Attempts at adding years to a tail-wager life have become wildly popular amongst pet people in recent months. 

While some barker buffs suggest plying a pooch with an eye-dropper full of red wine to keep them ticking, others advise subjecting older bowsers to routine health screenings for deadly disorders such as “doggy dementia.”  

And Loyal’s could-be miracle drug might not only add more time and beef up the quality of life in dogs — it may also have anti-aging implications for human beings. 

“We wat to help the development of drugs tat target the way dogs age and maybe one day how humans age,” said Halioua, “to reduce their risk of future age-related disease or death.”

She, too, noted that researchers ultimately hope to “extend out those healthy middle years,” in both pets and their aging owners. 

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