Longevity drug for dogs moves closer to FDA approval: Loyal

An anti-aging drug for dogs is one step closer to doctor's offices, after it cleared a key regulatory hurdle with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this month.

On Tuesday, Loyal announced that its first-of-its-kind longevity drug received the first of three green lights needed for FDA approval. The decision, made in early November, is essentially a vote of confidence from federal regulators that this drug should actually work to extend dogs' lifespans, based on evidence so far.

Loyal's new drug, called LOY-001 is an injection that dogs over 7 years and 40 pounds could receive at their veterinarian's office roughly every three to six months.

The goal? Add more years of healthy living onto the pets' lives, at a relatively reasonable price of "mid double digits" a month, Loyal CEO and founder Celine Halioua told Business Insider. Halioua expects the drug, which aims to slow down big dog growth factors, could be on the market in 2026.

But if this anti-aging drug is successfully approved by the FDA, it could be a watershed moment not only for pet owners, but for aging humans, too. This is the first time that US regulators have hinted that they could be ready to endorse longevity drugs.

"Classically, drugs are developed for diseases," Halioua explained. "What the longevity field is trying to do is target the ways we age holistically."

Instead of going after one disease at a time, the new drugs that Loyal (and other biotech companies) are currently developing for longevity hope to extend the amount of time that dogs and people can be reasonably expected to live in good health.

"Extend out those healthy middle years," as Halioua put it.

There are several other longevity trials, ongoing in both dogs and in people, testing out drugs both new and old that aging scientists hope could help slow down the clock. So far, there's never been any drug approved to combat aging, but many experts are hopeful that a breakthrough moment in the field could be hiding just around the corner.