The FDA has made significant progress in approving the first anti-aging drug for dogs, which could also lay the groundwork for life-extending drugs in humans.
Challenge: In nature, large animal species such as elephants tend to live significantly longer than smaller animals such as mice, but the opposite is true within the same species, with smaller animals tending to live longer. there is.
That certainly applies to dogs as well. The average Chihuahua has a lifespan of 13 years, while the average Great Dane has a lifespan of only 9 years. The large and adorable Bernese Mountain Dog lives on average only 8.8 years.
Researchers aren’t entirely sure why large dogs tend to have shorter lifespans, but evidence suggests humans are to blame – selectively targeting large dogs for centuries. Let it breed, Biggest Dogs appear to have left behind genes that make these large breeds more susceptible to cancer and other diseases.
Small dogs such as Chihuahuas can live many years longer than larger dogs such as Great Danes.
Extending your dog’s lifespan: Biotechnology company Loyal is on a mission to extend not only the lifespan of large breed dogs, but also their healthspan, or the number of years a dog can live in good health.
“At Royal, we believe that short lifespans in large breed dogs are not inevitable, but rather a genetically-related disease caused by historical human selection, and therefore can be targeted and treated with drugs. “We believe there is,” said Brennen McKenzie, director of veterinary medicine at Royal. .
The company’s first product, LOY-001, is a drug that reduces levels of the growth-promoting hormone IGF-1. IGF-1 levels can be up to 28 times higher in large breeds than in small dogs, and Royal says these elevated levels are responsible for shortening the animals’ lifespans.
The drug is designed to be given as an injection every three to six months until the dog reaches adulthood, Royal CEO Celine Harioua told the New York Times. The company said it expects it to “cost in the mid-double digits per month.” ”
what’s new? Royal is currently working with the FDA to obtain approval for LOY-001 and announced a milestone in that effort on November 28th. The FDA says it believes the data Royal has shared so far is sufficient to demonstrate a “reasonable expectation of efficacy.”
It may sound overwhelming, but Royal is working to get its anti-aging drug for dogs through the FDA’s expanded conditional approval pathway. This route targets serious conditions but is limited to treatments that are particularly difficult to prove effective.
“We intend to advocate for an extension of healthy life expectancy by at least one year.”
celine haliua
A “reasonable expectation of effectiveness” is the minimum requirement for this pathway. Loyal’s next step is to complete the safety and manufacturing sections of the application. Once FDA approves these, the company will be able to begin marketing LOY-001 to pet owners.
Future prospects: Royal expects to complete the FDA application process and receive conditional approval in 2026. The approval is valid for one year, but Royal has the option to renew it for a total of five years.
In the meantime, Royal must prove to the FDA that it is working on providing “substantial evidence” that LOY-001 is effective. If it doesn’t do so before the conditional approval expires, the agency could withdraw the drug from the United States. market.
“We are going to advocate for an extension of healthy lifespan by at least one year,” Hariua told the NYT.
The big picture: Royal is currently focused on helping large breed dogs live longer, healthier lives, but eventually hopes to apply what it learns from research in dogs to humans.
“Dogs are considered one of the best models of human aging,” Halioua told Freethink. “We have co-evolved with dogs and shared our environment with them for tens of thousands of years. They develop the same age-related diseases that we do at about the same time in our lives. Masu.”
Dogs have much shorter lifespans than we do, so it’s easier to see if anti-aging drugs are more effective in dogs than in humans.
It does not mean lowering Human Even if it works for dogs, IGF-1 levels are the key to longevity. But Royal has several drugs in development. did it That’s the answer, and just the FDA’s approval of the first anti-aging drug for dogs could lay the groundwork for regulation of the drug for humans.
“There is no direct link between something being approved for dogs and something being approved for humans,” Hariua said. “But if we can get the first-ever aging approval through the Veterinary Food and Drug Administration (FDA), we can set a precedent that makes it possible, at least to some degree, right?”
We look forward to hearing from you! If you have comments about this article or tips for future Freethink stories, please send an email to: tips@freethink.com.
